The voice of bus operators, the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), has reacted to the Conservatives’ Local Transport Fund.
The Conservatives’ announcement of a Local Transport fund (£4.2bn) to eight local authority areas includes a commitment to fund bus rapid transit systems, priority corridors and other improvements for buses in each of the eight areas. It also includes a commitment to support those local authorities in receipt of funding to exercise their new powers over buses under the 2017 Bus Services Act.
CPT Chief Executive, Graham Vidler said: “Putting bus first in transport networks across our towns and cities is the key to getting more people to take the bus and in turn, cut congestion, combat the climate emergency and improve our air quality.
“This promise to deliver these measures in England’s urban centres, should the Conservatives be returned to government, is to be welcomed. While decisions on specific projects are best made locally it is important that the funding for bus is ring-fenced to ensure is it not lost to other projects.
“Partnership agreements across the country have delivered significant increases in passenger numbers and cut congestion without local residents having to take the financial risk of local authority control of bus services. The resources of the next government should be focused on how to put bus first on road networks to tackle congestion and increase passenger numbers rather than subsidising changes to the regulatory model for the industry.”
