The deputies warned that the bus service “hangs in the balance” unless additional funding is found to build a network suitable for a post-pandemic world.
Insufficient funding risks creating or perpetuating “a dual bus system, with services improving in one area but deteriorating or even disappearing in another country,” a parliamentary select committee on transport said in a report.
The use of buses outside of London is declining. It fell by 15 percent between 2010/11 and 2018/19. The decline may be due to higher rates – a real increase of 17% over the period – reduced services, increased car ownership, working from home and online shopping.
The impact of the pandemic is that “the lives of many people have changed, the time and place where they want to travel has changed.”
The decline in passenger numbers has left many services “hanging by a thread and dependent on short-term government recovery funding”.
The ministers responded by setting a £2 tariff ceiling, which the committee welcomed, but the government “needs to do more”.
MEPs warned that “the national strategy is unlikely to be implemented without additional funding.”
In April 2022, 80% of the UK bus fleet ran on diesel fuel, with less than 4% running on batteries or hydrogen. The government has announced a £525 million budget to help operators purchase zero-emission buses and refueling and charging infrastructure.
However, it is “unlikely” that the government’s target of 4,000 new zero-emission buses by the end of 2024 will be met.
While funds have been allocated for 1,779 new zero-emission buses, 447 orders have been placed and only 87 of these buses were actually on the road as of December last year.
Noting the chronic underfunding, the deputies said that there was simply not enough money to really improve the bus service throughout the country.
“Local areas were meant to be ambitious, but the Department of Transportation, Public Works and Water Management fell short of that level of ambition with the resources available.”
The Better Transport Campaign found that a £1.1bn fund to improve bus services resulted in only four out of ten local governments receiving the money, with no authority receiving the full amount they requested. Some municipalities describe the bidding process as “chaotic”.
Ian Stewart, chairman of the committee, said: “The humble bus remains the most widely used form of public transport in the UK.
“For many people, young and old, getting to work, school or hospital is vital. But patronage and service levels in England outside of London have been declining for years, a trend exacerbated by the pandemic.”
He said the bus sector is in a “difficult situation,” adding: “It would be absurd to spend billions to support the ailing bus sector during a pandemic and then see services drop. England’s £2 tariff system has been a key innovation, but ministers must continue to support the industry in building a new network fit for a post-pandemic world.
Norman Baker of the Campaign for Better Transport said: “Without urgent changes to how buses are funded, a national bus strategy is unlikely to provide the best bus network the country needs. We want all bus financing to be transferred to the Ministry of Transport with a single long-term bus financing fund. Funding should be directed to enable local authorities to close bus stops and maintain economically and socially necessary services for the benefit of residents.”
Local bus services have been in decline for a number of years, but a Campaign for Better Transport study found that between March 2021, when Bus Back Better was introduced, and March 2023, 23 per cent of bus services in England were closed. thus, 2800 fewer services.
More than a year after the release of Bus Back Better, the government has asked local authorities to contribute £1.1bn of funding from the Bus Improvement Scheme to help improve bus service in their areas. A total of 31 municipalities were initially successful but received less funding than requested. Nearly two-thirds received nothing.
A Department of Transport spokesman said: “We remain committed to the implementation of the national bus strategy and are making the largest £3 billion bus investment in this parliament.
“Since February 2020 we have committed over £300m in earmarked funds to zero emission buses being built right here in the UK and we are on track to deliver on our promise to bring 4,000 new zero emission buses to market. by the end of 2020. the year brings a year of parliamentary support. “.
Source: I News
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