Coach talk lacking in minister address – but still room for optimism

Simon Lightwood showed a good amount of interest when attending Euro Bus Expo last week. He dropped hints of what may follow in the Buses Bill in England, and suggested in not so many words that more funding towards zero-emission could be on the way.

Mr Lightwood is an affable fellow whose father was a bus driver at what is now Stagecoach North East. A follow-up note suggests that his enthusiasm for his brief is real. While policy for bus as outlined came as no surprise – franchising, municipals and room for partnership – missing in any detail from his address was reference to coach.

A sub-10-minute overview leaves little time for in-depth discussion. History shows that coach would have been happy with even a few sentences among that.

Mr Lightwood did use the word ‘coach’ three times – three more than would have been expected of some of his predecessors. But given policy considerations around accessibility, decarbonisation and urban access that are so critical to the mode, more would have been appreciated.

That it was not forthcoming will be a disappointment to trade bodies that have bent over backwards to lift the political profile of coach in recent months and years.

Words from Mr Lightwood’s boss at the Department for Transport Louise Haigh suggest that no quarter will be given to the sector on accessibility; she is clear that accessible journeys for all are a priority in her transport brief, and coach industry representative bodies will need to bear that in mind when discussions with her department come around.

Nevertheless, Mr Lightwood’s demeanour as its minister suggests that with effort, there will be a fruitful way into his considerations for the coach sector.

Seemingly genuine enthusiasm for his brief generates a worthwhile wager that as and when such a position can be reached, headway will be made; there will be no repeat of the nadir of relations that came with Baroness Vere’s stint as local transport minister, that is for sure.

Mr Lightwood clearly believes in buses. The cliché of “London-style” services for all is yet to be backed properly, and the harbinger of franchising hangs heavy over SMEs. But quick wins such as dropping the competitive approach to bus service funding and a solid FY2025/26 settlement are steps that should be followed quickly if the government is to deliver what it says it will.

Is there a risk of coach and its needs being overshadowed by work on bus? The Department for Transport took the front page of the Sunday Mirror with its bus funding announcement of 17 November – an impressive achievement, given that it was a rehash of a previous news.

The answer to that is thus undoubtedly yes. But mood music so far suggests that there is room for coach at the government table. It will just have to write its own invitation, bring its own chair, and take its own minutes.