With the Transport Select Committee’s bus market inquiry close to concluding, there’s a call for a clear bus strategy
While the general public will recall summer 2018 for its record-breaking temperatures, those in the industry will also remember it for the Transport Select Committee (TSC)’s ‘health of the bus market’ inquiry launch.
The TSC is close to concluding its work, having toured the country taking evidence from a wide group of stakeholders, as well as the more conventional sessions in Parliament.
At Go-Ahead we used our written submission to call for the implementation of a bus strategy and this will also be followed by a similar call at CPT level.
Addressing issues
But why is a strategy needed?
Surely rather than a theoretical strategy, it’s pretty obvious what the industry needs: Congestion busting measures, vibrant urban centres with good coach and bus access, and planning policies that act in tandem with high public transport use.
There are so many current issues that need addressing by bus companies in association with transport authority partners and nothing should be stopped in its tracks.
But like all good business principles it is important that measures being implemented are underpinned by a clear strategy with a set of overarching objectives.
This ensures that when the going gets tough you can fall back on explaining what the direction of travel is.
Without a strategy, all the things we are doing risk becoming a set of incoherent unconnected tasks that our critics can pick off one by one as soon as the first short-term funding crisis emerges.
Describing benefits
What would a coach and bus strategy have in it?
First off, it would explain what the government is buying from the funding it puts into the industry.
Around 40% of the industry’s income comes from public funding but in return it makes an immense contribution in terms of meeting public policy objectives in an extremely cost-effective way.
The strategy would describe the significant environmental and congestion benefits of giving coaches and buses unhindered access to town and city centres.
The TSC inquiry, with its emphasis on the ‘health’ of the industry, provided an excellent opportunity to bring the requirement for a bus strategy to the fore and we await the Committee’s conclusions with interest.
It was encouraging that the Chair of the TSC specifically mentioned a bus strategy in the operator oral evidence session and we are hopeful they will support our call.
Industry-led
Above all, the strategy should be led by the industry itself. But to be successful it should be endorsed by all those with bus – and coach – at their heart, be this central government, local transport authorities, customer groups and the supplier community.
Coaches and buses are part of the fabric of our communities and they share highway space with other users so everything we do affects society as a whole.
A successful strategy will only be delivered if everybody feels they have a stake in its success.
Commitment to its adoption would be a positive start to the New Year for all involved in the industry.
