Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the total size in kilometres of bus routes in England outside of London in (a) January 2020 and (b) October 2021.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Department does not hold data on the total size of bus routes in England outside London.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to reduce injuries to passengers, staff and other road users caused by buses outside London.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Our National Bus Strategy published in March 2021 made clear that the bus sector must strive for the highest safety standards, upheld by the Traffic Commissioners.
The Strategy required all Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to publish a local Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) by the end of October 2021. The Department was clear that BSIPs should include plans on how LTAs and local bus operators will work together to ensure that bus services are safe and perceived to be safe by all. This may include measures such as appropriate passenger safety training for bus drivers to deal with emergency situations on or off the bus, and encouraging bus operators to liaise with local police and other stakeholders to address safety concerns.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what level of reductions in bus services operators are able to introduce and still be eligible for covid-19 recovery funding for bus services.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Operators receiving the Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) must agree a baseline for their pre-pandemic, scheduled commercial mileage with their Local Transport Authority. They must then run a minimum of 90% of their pre-pandemic scheduled commercial mileage receive funding. Operators receive more funding if they run more mileage, to encourage operators to run as close to 100% as possible.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the maximum increase in fares is that bus operators can introduce and still be eligible for covid-19 recovery funding for bus services.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Operators receiving the Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) are permitted to increase the cost of fares in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). CPI will be determined as per the most recent published figure by the Office for National Statistics at the point of the increase.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for passengers of covid recovery funding for (a) bus services outside London and (b) light rail services outside London not being maintained beyond April 2022.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government is committed to seeing the bus sector and light rail networks return to financial sustainability. However, we recognise the ongoing challenges faced by operators and Local Transport Authorities to maintain services and are currently working with both sectors to understand how these might impact services after Covid recovery funding ends and what further action might be needed.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what auditing arrangements there are for bus service recovery funding for operators; what proportion of claims from operators are audited; and whether it has been necessary to take action to recover bus recovery funding claims as a result of that auditing.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Bus Recovery Grant scheme has been designed to comply with the grants principles as set out by Cabinet Office. The checking process for the grant, set out in the terms and conditions, is conducted across three separate levels: the baselining process at the start of the scheme; the monthly assurance checks against each period return from every operator; and 2 part review exercise which will provide additional assurance to the grant. The details of this review exercise are due to be communicated to operators within the scheme shortly.
DfT conducts due diligence checks on all claims submitted as part of the scheme. Action will be taken to recover funding where this is deemed appropriate following this checking process. At the time of writing, no monies have been claimed back from operators for this grant. This is however an on-going process and is subject to change through the lifetime of the scheme, where the Department will take action to recover funds where it becomes necessary.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what projections for patronage on a month-by-month basis is covid-19 recovery funding based on for (a) bus services outside London and (b) light rail systems outside London.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The level of funding available through the Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) and Light Rail and Tram Recovery Grant (LRTRG) has been based on operator revenue and patronage projections which have been reviewed by the Department. This data is commercially sensitive and includes forecasts from operators which are not in the public domain.