Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) has called on the new Labour government to recognise the value of coach and bus, and provide long-term funding which is focused on local authority devolvement.
The charity has also asked for an extension of the Bus Fare Cap Grant scheme which offers subsidised £2 single fares in England.
Silviya Barrett, CBT Director of Policy and Research, says: “Buses are our most used form of public transport, providing access to employment, education and tackling loneliness and social exclusion.
“Coaches are also an essential mode of sustainable transport, particularly for leisure and inter-city travel, with one full coach capable of removing up to 50 cars from our roads.
“The new government must recognise the economic and social importance of buses and coaches by providing long-term certainty of service provision and funding.
“We want to see this new government legislate for a minimum level of bus provision for all communities and make providing socially and economically necessary services a statutory requirement.”
CBT is also campaigning for bus funding to be long-term and targeted at local authorities.
“On funding, a proportion of the roads budget should be reallocated to give local authorities sufficient funding to deliver a minimum level of supported services,” Ms Barrett adds. “A long-term campaign of ours is to reform how buses are funded, and the government should commit to replacing the current fragmented and competitive funding pots with a single pot of long-term funding allocations for all local authorities.
“It’s local authorities that are best placed to decide which transport models will work best for their local area; the powers to implement bus franchising should be extended to all local authorities. Co-ordinating tendered, commercial and community transport provision is vital.”
CBT is adding to calls from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) for the £2 bus fare cap to be extended beyond the scheduled end point of December.
“Extending the £2 bus fare cap, a nationwide scheme of discounted fares for children and young people, a ban on the sale of diesel buses by 2030 and a national standard for real-time information at bus stops are all key asks that Campaign for Better Transport will be bringing to this new government,” says Ms Barrett.
On 5 July, in the immediate aftermath of Keir Starmer leading Labour’s landslide general election victory, CPT and RHA were among those outlining their hopes for the industry from the new government.
