Transport Committee Report on Local Bus Services Draws on Evidence from Transport East
A new Transport Select Committee report calls on the Government to reform the way local bus services are funded and to adopt a national ambition for a minimum level of public transport connectivity.
The findings draw on written and oral evidence from organisations across the country – including Transport East – and highlight the decline in bus services over the last decade, exploring what can be done to reconnect communities.
The report warns that declining bus services, particularly outside major cities, are driving social exclusion and limiting access to jobs, education, and healthcare. While welcoming steps in the Bus Services Bill to expand franchising and strengthen Enhanced Partnerships, the Committee calls for greater ambition to identify and address unmet needs, and recommends long-term, ring-fenced funding to guarantee a minimum level of connectivity, targeted support for authorities considering franchising, and a clear national vision to guide policy, fares, and investment towards growing ridership and revitalising England’s bus networks.
In our submission, we set out the challenges faced by rural and coastal authorities when bidding for funding compared to larger urban areas, the unequal distribution of Bus Service Improvement Plan allocations, and the social and economic costs of poor connectivity.
Our Chief Executive, Andrew Summers, gave oral evidence to the Committee as part of the inquiry into these challenges. He reported that our travel behaviour survey found 46% of people in urban areas had access to a bus, compared with 30% in rural communities. He noted that rural areas often lack direct routes and face long journey times due to the limited financial viability of serving sparse populations. In Suffolk, a significant number of services rely on public subsidy.
Going forward, we recommend the government works closely with Transport East’s Rural Mobility Centre of Excellence, and other Sub-national Transport Bodies, to develop robust policy that enables long-term funding arrangements for rural public transport. Through our Rural Mobility Centre of Excellence, advocacy for better investment and ongoing research, we will continue making the case for enhancements to public transport in rural communities and ensuring these voices have an input to the future of the bus network, supporting our vision for the East to thrive and grow.