A new bus service is set to launch to ensure people working at companies based at Teesport can get to and from work.
This follows concerned raised by Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston. He was worried about the lack of bus routes servicing Teesport and partnered with Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen to come up with a solution.
Houchen and the combined authority have now appointed bus operator Stagecoach to deliver a new bus service. The new route is being backed with £58,000 in funding from the metro mayor, with the goal of it eventually becoming fully commercially viable.
The service, numbered 101, is designed so that employees at sites such as the Tesco distribution warehouse can easily get to work if they didn’t have a car, with many on 24-hour shift patterns. Running between Middlesbrough Bus Station and Teesport three times a day via Thorntree Job Centre, Eston and South Bank, the bus will leave at 5am, 1pm and 9pm to line up with workers’ shifts.
It also aims to help unemployed people without a car attended interviews, training or apprenticeships on the site.
Houchen, said: “When I first learned about this problem, I wasted no time in asking bus operators to come forward with solutions and I’d like to thank Andy for raising the issue with me. There is no point in helping businesses create jobs in our region if local people don’t have access to them.
“I’m delighted this new service is now up and running and those without a car can get to work and back again quicker and easier than ever before. We’ve worked closely with Stagecoach in the past on projects like our Tees Flex on-demand bus service, and we’re happy to be providing the crucial funding needed to get this service off the ground.
“Alongside Tees Flex and our Wheels 2 Work electric motorbike leasing scheme, this is yet another way we’re helping people who need it get to their jobs in a way that doesn’t break the bank, giving people the local transport network they deserve.”
