The Department for Transport (DfT) is “hopeful” that a multi-year bus funding settlement in England will be facilitated by the ongoing Spending Review, Under-Secretary of State for Transport Simon Lightwood (pictured) told the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) conference on 23 January.
In a wide-ranging address and question-and-answer session that also touched on coach, Mr Lightwood underlined policy for greater local control of bus services, noting that such an approach will end “a cycle of decline” that has been in place since deregulation in the mid-1980s.
Although earlier government plans for buses were harmed by the claimed £22 billion ‘black hole’ discovered by the government shortly after it entered power, Mr Lightwood says that he was “really pleased” to obtain an over- £1 billion allocation in late-2024. That money captures Bus Service Improvement Plan, BSOG and £3 fare cap schemes.
He also notes that a focus on economic growth is front and centre of policy decisions and that bus services are a key part of that. “If growth is the end, then buses and coaches are the means,” the minister told delegates. CPT and other bodies have long called for a multi-year bus funding settlement approach.
Ongoing devolution and consolidation of bus funding sits alongside an end to competitive pots that local transport authorities (LTAs) must bid for. As already said by DfT, allocations are now based on population size, the distances that buses travel, and levels of deprivation.
“That rightly puts fairness at the heart of future funding, ensuring that taxpayer money is being spent in the areas of greatest need and where it will have the most impact,” adds Mr Lightwood.
Consolidation of that bus funding will see LTAs measured on delivery. What he terms “an outcomes framework” is being worked up for that purpose. “But there is a balance between true devolution and creating an industry of monitoring,” the minister cautions.
Mr Lightwood was challenged by CPT Chief Executive Graham Vidler on concerns about the future involvement of SME operators in bus franchising schemes following the decimation of their presence in the reregulated market in Greater Manchester.
“One of the narratives that I am trying to challenge is [that] when we talk about franchising, it is just the Manchester model. Actually, there are all sort of different models of franchising that would perhaps better suit rural areas and better suit SME providers,” he says, noting that the Bus Services Act 2017 already puts a duty on LTAs to consider those operators.
Future developments leave Mr Lightwood confident that various authorities will test various forms of franchising “to best effect,” he concludes.
