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COUNCILLOR David Wood, chairman of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (PTA) has thanked Nexus after the PTA was praised by a government watchdog. Councillor Wood was responding to an Audit Commission report which praised the PTA for providing a ‘good’ service with ‘promising improvement prospects’ to deliver the Local Transport Plan. The Audit Commission inspection team gave the service two stars out of a possible three because the PTA's long term vision is in line with regional ambitions for the area and they are improving facilities and services based on a good understanding of the needs of local people. Coun Wood, who chairs the 15 strong PTA, said: “Any good plan needs good people to implement it and we’re lucky to have such a strong executive to deliver our policies. “The staff at Nexus are committed and hard working and share our vision of inclusive and innovative public transport. “Tyne and Wear now has a long term vision thanks to Project Orpheus, our plan to modernise the network over 20 years, and plaudits from the Audit Commission go a long to reinforcing our case for further investment in local transport at national level.” The inspectors found: The PTA is providing greater transport choice and has set challenging targets to increase accessibility for all to the main employment and recreational areas in Tyne and Wear. The PTA is developing a network of high quality bus routes with partners including bus operators.
A range of initiatives are taking place to improve the quality of public transport service routes and interchanges. Levels of information are good and it is easy to access information in several ways. To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations, including: Improve scrutiny and performance management of the PTA to demonstrate value for money. Improve co-ordination across the five Tyne and Wear local authorities for a consistent approach to shared transport policies. Continue to improve integration of all passenger transport to meet demand at all times.
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