The increasingly obvious disconnect between political messaging around the National Bus Strategy for England and on-the-ground reality in some areas even where substantial Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) money is in play has been further exposed, this time in Kent and Stoke-on-Trent.
Despite significant BSIP funding going to each location, and the Department for Transport (DfT) having recently changed policy to enable its use to support existing routes, both districts are seeing their overall bus coverage reduce against a backdrop of positive spin.
Stoke BSIP funds fare reductions – while services are reduced
In economically depressed Stoke-on-Trent, political leverage of BSIP-funded fare cuts came less than a week before a further round of timetable trimming by the area’s two dominant operators. Both cited reduced patronage and a need for services to be sustainable as reasons. In addition, D&G Bus used the local media to lay blame at the door of Stoke-on-Trent City Council for a reduction in concessionary reimbursement.
Almost 200 miles away in the South of England, DfT on 21 June announced that the BSIP allocation for prosperous Kent had risen by £16.1 million. In fact, that “increase” served only to take the sum for Kent up to the original, indicative, allocation of £35.1 million that was first publicised in March 2022. It was treated as new money by some sources.
DfT says that the second tranche was “unlocked” after plans put forward by Kent County Council (KCC) demonstrated how it would be spent on improvements “that were deemed satisfactory,” according to a Department spokesperson.
A further announcement similar to that in Kent was made by DfT on 30 June. It concerned North East England. That missive claimed that an “additional” £45.6 million of BSIP funding had been allocated. This, again, served only to take the sum for that region to the £163.5 million indicatively awarded in 2022.
Costs up, patronage down: A difficult equation in Kent
Back in Kent, operators including Arriva and Stagecoach plan service reductions and withdrawals despite the claimed bountiful government funding for the industry there. Chalkwell will provide a partial replacement for one removed Arriva route.
Stagecoach South East says that while passengers continue to return to buses in Kent, numbers are not at pre-pandemic levels, and those who are travelling are doing so less often. KCC adds that overall bus patronage in the county is 80% of that before the pandemic, “with off-peak use being much less.”
The other major consideration is crystal clear. “Our costs have increased considerably over the same period,” adds Stagecoach. “This means that we are having to face some difficult decisions around our operating model and service offering. We have to be realistic about what we can do as a commercial bus operator alone, and when support from central and local government can help to bring solutions.”
KCC is understandably at pains to define the service cuts as commercial decisions by operators. It is endeavouring to protect as many routes as possible, with a natural focus on those carrying school traffic. “This work resulted in a much better position for passengers than was thought possible earlier in the summer,” a spokesperson says.
In an indication that DfT’s relaxation of rules around BSIP money came too late for some areas, the spokesperson notes that much of Kent’s first tranche of £12.4 million is already spoken for. Most will go on bus priority and the bulk of the remainder on ticketing initiatives “and other promotions.” However, other BSIP money now “unlocked” may be used to sustain under-threat routes.
“This will prioritise the protection of school buses,” the KCC representative continues. “We also have to ensure that we are funding services that are attracting sufficient use that they might be self-sustainable again after the funding period. This will unfortunately mean that we are unable to protect every service at risk of withdrawal.”
Do politicians understand the BSIP reality in some areas?
Stoke-on-Trent has been allocated £31.7 million for its BSIP, although it will not fund an earlier proposal to complete a ring road in Hanley that would not be served by buses. It is thought that a backlash from operators influenced the failure of that project to progress.
The city’s BSIP contains various other schemes that are set to move forward in partnership with operators including D&G and First Potteries. Key among those are promises of service uplifts, particularly early in the morning, during evenings and on Sundays, to take account of the volume of shiftwork in North Staffordshire.
The cheaper fares – headlined by a £3.50 all-day ticket – are a further and quicker-win measure. They were first slated to be introduced in October 2022; that work eventually came good on 1 July.
One day later, a round of reductions came to many routes in both the Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council areas. They include First Potteries’ flagship Mainline-branded services and removal of Sunday evening journeys to Keele University. Evening and Sunday journeys were dropped elsewhere, despite stated BSIP aspirations.
D&G stepped in to provide some alternative coverage, but generally at lower frequencies. The Centrebus subsidiary also reduced the timetables of two longstanding services of its own from the same date. Some of the reductions are slated to be undone later via the BSIP settlement.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council also recently reheated its rail-based aspirations for public transport. This time, that is built around the experimental Very Light Rail (VLR) idea. Such hopes quickly took a blow when the now former portfolio holder for transport outlined that the concept struggles with hills. One VLR route in the city, proposed only weeks earlier, includes a stretch along one of its steepest roads.
Meanwhile, politicians both local and national trumpet BSIP-funded improvements. While some areas are seeing exactly that, the contrast with places like Kent, Stoke-on-Trent and others becomes increasingly stark – no matter how many millions are pumped into cheap fares.