National Bus Strategy: England

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The Labour shadow asks how the Government will ensure that the new investment reverses the cuts in bus services, restores lost routes, and brings fares down to a reasonable level for passengers. He also questions why it has taken over a year since the initial promise of 4,000 zero-emission buses before any progress is made.

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The shadow criticises the bus strategy as lacking ambition, not addressing cuts in services and rising prices since 2010, failing to deliver on zero-emission buses, and raising concerns about council budget black holes. He asks how many lost routes will be restored, what will be done to lower fares, and why municipal bus companies are not revisited.

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Welcoming the bus strategy, the MP asks how best practices can be made standard and what additional investment can be given to local authorities for establishing a buses champion in each transport authority.

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Welcomes the statement on bus services but criticises the lack of urgency in implementing the strategy, questions why no zero-emission buses have been delivered outside London or Scotland since last spring, asks about commitment to 4,000 green buses and if funding will be Barnettised.

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Welcomes the new bus strategy and asks about steps to unify bus franchises in West Yorkshire, specifically for Wakefield.

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Welcomes the release of 'Bus Back Better' but questions why only a review of part of the Bus Services Act 2017 is committed to, rather than scrapping those provisions entirely.

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Expresses concern over the loss of 1,000 jobs in the UK bus and coach industry and questions why it has taken so long to introduce this plan.

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Welcomes the bus strategy and asks about Cumbria County Council's use of Government funds to improve rural services.

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Welcomes the strategy and asks about cross-border services and through pricing between authorities.

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Welcomes the announcement and asks if Bury Council, Transport for Greater Manchester, and bus operators will have access to further moneys and support under this strategy.

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Welcomes aspects of the statement and asks about removing time-consuming barriers to franchising and ensuring local transport authorities receive funding for local priorities.

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I welcome the steps outlined in the bus strategy to help operators and local authorities deliver frequent, more reliable, easier-to-use services. More comprehensive bus services will be needed, especially in rural areas such as East Devon, to protect both socially necessary and economically necessary routes and services. What plans does my right hon. Friend have to help people get the bus to work any time of day?

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As the Member of Parliament whose constituency includes the Wrightbus factory, which has carried out pioneering work—it was the first to produce the hydrogen bus for the UK and the battery diesel bus—I have been pushing the Prime Minister on this for some time. I welcome the statement and the plans to buy British-made buses, but there are many shovel-ready projects available for zero-emission buses across the UK. Under the current plans, the roll-out will not be until 2022? What are we waiting for? Why cannot we get on with it?

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I warmly welcome the national bus strategy as another key spoke of the levelling up agenda alongside lifelong learning, the levelling-up fund and transport more generally. This is really about delivery, not dogma, and I am glad to see the options available for local authorities as well as the integrated and social nature of some of the funding available. Will the Secretary of State assure me that he will look at services in places in my constituency such as Burnhope and Weardale, which really need extra bus services later in the evenings, for potential pilot schemes?

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Spending on bus services in London is £60 higher per person than it is in South Yorkshire, where we have seen funding fall by 40% in the last decade. Any strategy is welcome, but what we really need is investment. What funding can our region expect and by when?

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I am hugely excited about the opportunities that today’s announcement bring. However, when I have previously shared initiatives from the Department for Transport, the comments page underneath has said something along the lines of, “I’d settle for a bus from Hesketh Bank to Tarleton.” Will the Secretary of State give me and the people of South Ribble the confidence that communities, businesses, educational establishments and industry will be able to input their needs to transform Lancashire’s bus services?

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The north-east has suffered from under-investment in transport for too long. In 2019, it was revealed that over £3,600 of spend was planned per head for London and just over £500 per head for the north-east. The Prime Minister has said the strategy is an act of levelling up, but we know that phrase is a smokescreen for gifting money to areas that do not need it but happen to have a Tory MP. Will the Secretary of State tell us what criteria will be applied to ensure that this £3 billion is shared fairly among our regions?

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Many rural communities rely on bus services provided by small, often family-run businesses such as Stanley Travel in my constituency, who have found it hard during covid because they do not have the resource to capital that some larger companies have. What specific help will be available to such companies to ensure that they not only survive but that those important local bus services continue?

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Buses provide a lifeline for people in North West Norfolk, but rural areas have seen greater reductions in services. Will my right hon. Friend ensure that Norfolk gets a fair share of this welcome new funding to not only rebuild but enhance services, with later buses and new links, as well as capital for improvements to speed up journeys alongside the coast?