Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Bus Services

Thursday 2 March 2023 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government provided over 2 billion in emergency and recovery funding to support vital bus services during the pandemic.
  • Bus operators are facing challenges such as driver shortages leading to service cancellations.
  • The Government announced additional investment of 155 million to protect and extend bus services.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Luke Pollard Labour (Co-op) Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Economy Transport
Context

Bus services have been reduced due to the pandemic, affecting local communities.

Question

What assessment he has made of the impact of reductions to bus services on local communities. Due to significant cuts in bus services and passenger numbers during the pandemic, I am concerned about the impact these reductions are having on the ability of my constituents to access essential services such as healthcare and education. The government promised £2 billion in emergency funding for bus operators but what assessment has been made on how effective this funding has been in preventing service cuts?

Answer from Richard Holden

Covid-19 resulted in significant reductions to bus service levels and passenger numbers. To mitigate that, the Government have provided more than £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding to keep vital bus services running. On 17 February, we announced a further extension to that support until 30 June. As a result, bus service provision in England outside London remained at more than 85% of pre-covid levels in 2021-22, despite patronage and commercial fare revenue remaining significantly lower.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific effectiveness of emergency funding not directly addressed

How: Under Review

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Q2 Nicholas Fletcher
Transport
Context

Stagecoach bus services from Doncaster to Worksop are facing daily cancellations due to severe driver shortages.

Question

Stagecoach bus services from Doncaster to Worksop—numbers 21, 22 and 25—have daily cancellations due to driver shortages that have been going on for a long time. Posts are put on the Tickhill Community Forum on Facebook by Clare Cutts every day. At a time when we need to shop more locally and support our economy, what more can we do to put pressure on bus companies to deliver the services that we need?

Answer from Richard Holden

My hon. Friend, who is a champion for his Don Valley constituency, raises an important issue. I know how important local bus services are to him and to people across the country, and how constituents can be frustrated by service cancellations. Bus operators are facing a number of challenges, which the Government continue to work with the sector to address. I look forward to meeting him in Don Valley in the coming weeks to discuss the issue further with him and other operators.

Not addressed: No specific measures mentioned for addressing cancellations caused by driver shortages

How: Meetings

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Q3 Mike Amesbury Lab
Transport
Context

Arriva North West is scrapping 13 bus routes and closing two depots in the Northwich area.

Question

On Monday evening, I got a letter from Arriva North West about 13 bus routes being scrapped and two depots being closed in the Northwich part of my constituency, as a result of a strategy called “Bus Back Better”. What is better about that? What will the Minister do to ensure that my constituents can get to their place of work, school or college and go about their everyday business? I ask him to step in.

Answer from Richard Holden

The hon. Member raises some important questions. I know that Conservative colleagues have met Arriva in recent days, and I met my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Dr Mullan) and my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Edward Timpson) about the Arriva issues in the area yesterday. My understanding is that D&G Bus is already looking to provide some of the services that Arriva has decided to remove itself from. I note the hon. Member's concern about the issue and if he would like to meet me, I would be delighted.

Not addressed: No specific actions mentioned for addressing cancellations and closures

How: Meetings

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Q4 Ian Levy
Transport
Context

Local services, including the X10 and X11 routes to Newcastle, are facing reductions which affect constituents' daily travel plans.

Question

Effective and reliable public transport is essential for our local communities. Reductions in local services in Blyth Valley, including the X10 and X11 to Newcastle, mean that my constituents plan their journeys only to find that the buses are late or simply not coming at all. Many groups who are already at a disadvantage, including the young, the old and people on a low income, rely on those vital services to access healthcare, education and leisure. It is critical that we do not let them down. Will my hon. Friend assure me that we will do everything we can to ensure that those bus services run effectively?

Answer from Richard Holden

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. The Government know how important bus services are to local communities across the country, which is why we recently announced additional investment of £155 million not only to continue protecting those services but to ensure a three-month extension to the £2 cap on bus fares to help working people in places such as Blyth Valley who are getting out there every day. We want to help to address the cost of living crisis and encourage people back on to our network. We are committed to working with the sector to ensure that bus services reflect the needs of communities and deliver our ambition for everyone with access everywhere.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No specific measures mentioned for ensuring effective service running

How: Working On It

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Q5 Luke Pollard Labour (Co-op) Plymouth Sutton and Devonport
Transport
Context

The 31 bus route has been axed, affecting older people's ability to access essential services such as healthcare.

Question

I do not expect the Minister to know about the 31 bus route in Plymouth, but I do expect him to care about the people who can no longer get that bus because it has been axed—the older people who cannot get to their GP or hospital appointments as easily or bring back their shopping from town. Will the Minister agree to adopt Labour's policy of handing power over bus routes back to communities? Will he finally give the south-west its fair share of bus funding?

Answer from Richard Holden

I thank the hon. Member for his question. Plymouth City Council receives £85,000 a year through the bus service operators grant and has been allocated a total of £599,000 in emergency and recovery funding for bus services since March 2020. I would be delighted to look at that further, and look forward to visiting Plymouth in the near future.

Not addressed: No commitment to adopting Labour's policy or increasing south-west funding

How: Meeting

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Q6 Simon Lightwood Labour (Co-op) Wakefield and Rothwell
Transport Energy
Context

The government's target to deliver 4,000 zero-emission buses by the end of this Parliament is far from being achieved.

Question

In 2020, the Government promised to deliver 4,000 zero-emission buses in this Parliament, but just 341 have been ordered, and only six are on our roads. At this rate, it will take 23 years to meet that target, and we will not get diesel buses off our roads completely until the end of the century. With manufacturers ready to deliver a brighter, greener future for Britain's buses, when will the Minister get out of first gear and match their ambition?

Answer from Richard Holden

The hon. Member has clearly missed our announcement this morning of extra buses across the country—an extra £25 million going into York, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and delivering 3,452 zero-emission buses, to date, on that 4,000 target, so we will definitely get there before the end of the Parliament.

Answered
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