15 December 2006
Local transport authorities have welcomed government proposals to give them a greater say in how bus services are run.
This week Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander announced that he intended to make it easier for local authorities to have a say in bus frequency, fares and timetables.
The proposals follow up a commitment Alexander made to the Labour Party conference in September and also include giving traffic commissioners greater powers of enforcement, holding both operators and local authorities to account, and allowing local authorities to operate services if there is local need.
Alexander said: 'To many people buses are a lifeline, giving them access to jobs and shops and allowing them to stay in touch with family and friends. But since deregulation some areas have seen a free-for-all, with the needs of passengers being neglected.'
John Whitelegg, deputy chair of the Local Government Association's transport and regeneration board, said the proposals were a 'victory for common sense'.
'The only way we can get more passengers on the buses is to give local people more say over services where they live,' he said.
'It would be impossible to deliver the government's target of increasing passenger numbers without these necessary and needed proposals. English councils outside London spend more money to enable fewer passengers to travel at fares that are significantly higher on fewer services. They have been hamstrung by a system that has not allowed them to respond to local need.'
Roy Wicks, chair of the Passenger Transport Executive Group, also welcomed the announcement and said he hoped the announcement marked a fresh start for bus use outside London.
He added: 'The government is right to say that the public sector needs to deliver on its side of the bargain by giving the bus the priority it needs to speed past the jams. What we want to work towards – with both highway authorities and private sector operators – is an integrated programme of properly planned and regulated bus services, benefiting from extensive bus priority measures.'
The proposals, published on December 12, will be discussed with key interested parties before being inclusion in the draft Road Transport Bill, to be published next year.
Bus passenger numbers have halved in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Brimingham.
Only in London, where mayor Ken Livingstone runs the services and sets fares, are passenger numbers rising – up 50% since 2000. The capital's bus service received £480m in public subsidies last year.
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