The Confederation of Passenger Transport has urged the Government to adopt a five-year funding settlement to unlock the full potential of England’s bus services. The call for action was made as part of the CPT’s submission to the Transport Committee’s
inquiry examining the role of buses in connecting communities and evaluating the effectiveness of recent Government policy in tackling the decline in bus services.
As the CPT reminds us, buses are the UK’s most popular form of public transport, carrying 11 million passengers daily and playing a vital role in enabling people to earn, learn, and spend in their local areas. Its submission highlights the strong economic case for government investment in bus services, with every pound spent said to be generating £4.55 in benefits to the environment, public health, and the economy.
“The benefits of buses extend far beyond their passengers,” said Alison Edwards, CPT’s Director of Policy and External Relations. “Government funding is essential to ensure buses remain a lifeline for communities, particularly in rural areas, and to deliver on key priorities such as economic growth, breaking down barriers to opportunity and achieving net zero carbon goals.”
The CPT emphasised that current funding models and governance structures for buses outside major metropolitan areas are inadequate. A long-term funding commitment would allow for reforms to improve sustainability, accessibility, and affordability, it says. It also called for streamlining mechanisms and expanding public-private partnerships to deliver efficient and reliable bus services tailored to the needs of different regions.
With regards to the regulatory model under which buses are run, different models will work in different parts of the country, says the CPT, and whilst franchising might be the right choice for some Mayoral Combined Authorities, it is less likely to be the right option for running bus services in areas outside of major cities where regulatory models that build on the success of commercial bus services may reap more benefits.
To improve bus services for all communities, CPT highlighted the need for prioritising buses on road networks in urban areas to improve speed and reliability, investing in rural bus services to meet community needs and improve accessibility, and adequate funding through the upcoming spending review to deliver lasting improvements.
