Local MP Robert Largan has welcomed the Government’s announcement of a revolutionary new bus strategy, backed by £3 billion of investment, that will see passengers across England benefiting from more frequent, more reliable, and cheaper bus services.
The new bus strategy will require councils to work in partnership with bus operators to improve services for passengers in order to be eligible for funding in future.
Councils and operators will be expected to provide:
• Simpler single bus fares with daily price caps, so people can use the bus as many times a day as they need without facing mounting costs.
• More services in the evenings and at the weekends.
• Integrated services and ticketing across all transport modes in the area, so people can easily move from bus to train.
• Easy to access information so that services are simple to use.
• All buses to accept contactless payments.
Councils will also need to franchise services, as is the case in London, or establish statutory partnerships with operators, ensuring that they work in collaboration for the benefit of passengers. They will also be required to publish an improvement plan.
Such improvements will be underpinned by fundamental reforms to the sector and will see operators need to work with their local councils on targets for improving passenger numbers, reliability and passenger satisfaction, to be eligible for future government funding.
Only councils and operators who work to meet these requirements will continue to receive the emergency Covid funding, worth around £100 million per month, for the sector, or any new sources of funding from the £3 billion investment.
Alongside the new bus strategy, the Government has also announced that Staffordshire County Council will receive £1,038,091 as part of the £20 million Rural Mobility Fund, designed to trial on-demand responsive transport in rural and suburban areas, such as minibuses booked via an app, where traditional bus services are not appropriate. The Secretary of State for Transport, in a letter to Robert Largan MP, stated that part of their proposal is likely to benefit High Peak residents.
Levelling up services across the country will help ensure more people turn to the bus, rather than the car, as the country builds back better and greener from the pandemic.
Robert Largan MP commented:
“Good bus services can have a transformational role in places like High Peak, unlocking job opportunities, boosting businesses and supporting economic growth.
“This new bus strategy with £3 billion of support will help to make this a reality, paving the way for simpler fares, more reliable services, and better connections across every part of the country.
“At the last general election, I stood on a manifesto that promised to level up and improve transport connections across High Peak, and this boost to our local bus services will help to deliver on that promise.”
