The bus Enhanced Partnership mechanism in England will gain further minimum standards from 2027, a review of the effectiveness of that approach has revealed. Partnerships will be expected to meet those to receive FY2027/28 bus grant funding.
Setting such minimum standards is a reflection on the commitment to a multi-year funding approach for bus services in England, the document notes. They focus on measures that help to define a good bus Enhanced Partnership and will enable passengers to expect “a certain baseline to be met” regardless of where they are.
Beyond items such as maintaining local transport authority (LTA) spending on bus services, promotion of concessionary travel, information provision and a passenger charter, the new minimum standards will include:
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- The offer and promotion of a full range of multi-operator ticketing products at little or no extra cost over single-operator fares, making them the default for passengers, and including contactless capping over time under Project Coral
- Publication of performance outcomes data that should include patronage, customer satisfaction and punctuality as a baseline
- Specifying common timetable change dates on a twice-yearly basis
- Setting out how the partnership has met the legislative requirement to have regard for the need to enable disabled people to access bus services
- A commitment to appropriately enforce bus lanes and bus gates, and to continue maintenance of LTA bus infrastructure.
Observing those “will support the delivery of improved outcomes in places that are not already meeting them,” the report says. Enhanced Partnerships will receive support to reach the required standard in acknowledgement of different starting points.
The list of additional minimum standards has been developed through engagement with stakeholders including LTAs and bus operators. In the report, the Department for Transport (DfT) notes that they “are a floor, not a ceiling” and that many partnerships “will want to go beyond them to deliver an exemplary standard.”
Noted is how Enhanced Partnership is largely an effective tool to improve bus services and that stakeholders in general view it positively. But it is not currently delivering effectively in every location where it is present. The report says that some Enhanced Partnerships are less developed than others, with the former needing help to reach a suitable standard.
The review was done in two phases. The first, in late 2024, focused on legislative measures for inclusion in the Bus Services Act. The second looked more widely at non-legislative measures and aimed to identify where Enhanced Partnerships can be strengthened to deliver a higher minimum standard.
While Enhanced Partnership is the topic of the report, the document observes that “many” LTAs in England may be considering whether franchising is a more appropriate measure for bus service reform. In those cases, meeting the minimum standards laid out will be “helpful… as they set the basis for a strong and integrated network to franchise.”
On that note, DfT may discuss exemptions from the standards where concern exists that meeting them “will detract [from] or conflict with the franchising process.”
Identified in the review were further potential minimum standards that were not taken forward as requirements but are “strongly encouraged.” Among them were single network branding, information provision at stops, and a single website.
Other points include how some LTAs experience reluctance from operators to share data, although members of the latter group told the review of challenges in sharing commercially sensitive information and felt that what data would be used for was not always explained by the LTA.
On the Enhanced Partnership mechanism’s legally binding nature, LTAs and operators alike have expressed concern around enforcement. The report observes that when a partnership is made, the standards that operators must meet become part of the service registration and that a Traffic Commissioner can intervene if it is not adhered to.
New and updated guidance on Enhanced Partnerships will be published this year, as will a manual. The report can be read by clicking here.
