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Government spending on transport is up to three times higher in London than the rest of the UK – as 5,000 regional bus routes face the axe.

The stark divide was revealed as the Labour Party warned of the disastrous effect of Tory cuts.

Transport spending per person in London is £1,019 a year, figures show.

But in the “Northern Powerhouse” – the North West, the North East, ­Yorkshire and the Humber – it is £417.

In the “Midlands Engine” – the East and West Midlands – it is just £337.

(Image: Katie Lunn/Teesside Live)

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald MP said: “This new analysis shows that there is a clear North-South divide in the Government’s transport priorities.

“The Government’s continued underinvestment in local government and transport infrastructure has resulted in thousands of bus routes being wiped off the map.

“Nine years of Tory cuts has devastated bus networks outside of London causing people to be cut off from their communities and contributing to rising levels of loneliness.

“Labour is committed to investing in transport infrastructure across Britain and will deliver the powers and funding to ensure that all our regions can prosper.”

The East Midlands had the lowest level of investment per person (£245), followed by the South West (£290) and then ­Yorkshire and the Humber (£315).

The figures were produced the Labour Party from analysis of ONS statistics.

Last year the number of bus journeys in England plunged by 63 million outside the capital.

In London they dropped by 29 million. The axe fell on 301 routes, 125 of them in the North.

Labour predicts there will be 5,000 fewer routes by 2022 if spending continues at today’s levels.

There was a 45 per cent reduction in funding for bus services across England and Wales from 2010-11 to 2017-18.

'They axed route ... how will elderly and disabled cope?'

Stranded residents were left to walk more than a mile along a busy road to another bus route after theirs was ditched.

The 3,000 residents of Longsands near Preston, Lancs, lost the No 14 service last September.

Liz Singleton, 69, said: “It’s terrible. We have a lot of elderly people who relied heavily on it. I know of one couple who moved away because we no longer have a bus.”

Richard Willcocks, 70, said: “The Government wants people to use cars less but then bus routes are stopped. I’ve got a bus pass but no bus.”

And Michelle Worden, 37, said: “It’s only a mile, but what if you’re elderly, infirm or disabled?”

The local authority said government cuts had made the route unviable. They now plan to divert another bus to Longsands to ease the problem.