Bus Services (Yorkshire and Humber)

Sarah Champion Excerpts

Wednesday 17th April 2013 Westminster Hall

[Sarah Champion (Rotherham) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton) on securing the debate.

I shall begin by speaking personally. When I first came to Sheffield as a student in the late ’80s, bus fares were 2p across town, and that was one of the deciding factors for choosing Sheffield over other places. We were outraged in 1989 when fares increased to 10p, because it put regular bus travel out of the reach for most of us. When I studied, I was lucky to have a full grant—it was before tuition fees were introduced—but the seemingly paltry increase in bus fares meant that I was forced to walk most journeys, because I could not afford to do otherwise.

A student ticket in Sheffield is now 80p. I appreciate that for many of us that does not seem like a lot of money, but students are now saddled with massive debts, so 80p is a considerable investment. As I did, many students choose not to travel by bus due to the cost, instead spending the money on other essentials. During the day, that is fine, and in fact I would probably encourage it, but at night, I am concerned. I worry about the safety of students and young people forced to walk in the dark across town or, as my hon. Friend said, a considerable distance on rural lanes because they cannot afford a bus fare or there is no bus for them to catch.

In Sheffield and most towns, walking is an option, but the situation is compounded if a young person has to travel any distance or be anywhere at a specific time. If an apprentice has to be in work at a set time for example, what are their options? Rely on friends and family for lifts; own, insure and pay exorbitant fuel costs for a car; or risk their life on a bike or scooter. Realistically, the only option is catching the bus. On £2.65 an hour, a daily commute by bus becomes a costly enterprise, and some young people I have spoken to have decided not to take up apprenticeships due to the financial burden, which horrifies me. They are turning down a future because they cannot afford the transport to get there.

In reality, is there even a bus that they can catch? Ministers promised that cuts in funding would not lead to a loss of local bus services, yet many communities have seen significant reductions in vital services. Fares have risen on average by double the rate of inflation. The Government have cut funding for local transport by 28% and direct subsidies to support local bus services by a fifth. As a consequence, local authorities have not been able to sustain the previous level of support for unprofitable but socially necessary bus services.

Research has shown that one in five local council-supported bus services were cut or reduced last year, and 41% of local authorities have reported cuts to timetables. Where services have been protected, bus companies have often increased fares to make up for the revenue lost through cuts to subsidies. It is the most vulnerable who are most affected by the loss of a local bus service, with 35% of the 5.2 billion journeys each year in Britain made by those eligible for concessionary travel. Young people have been particularly badly affected, with the loss of services and the rising prices making it harder for them to take up education or training opportunities. The pressure on funding faced by local authorities has seen concessionary travel schemes for young people, which are discretionary, withdrawn or scaled back.

In Rotherham, we are trying to tackle the injustice for young people head-on. The metropolitan borough council is actively pursuing ways to increase young user representation, so that the transport services are fit for purpose. As part of the last 11 million takeover day, when the Youth Parliament runs Rotherham council, the young people particularly wanted to address the matter of transport. Issues raised were primarily about safety and security, the reliability of services, and affordability. Recommendations were made for a more joined-up system, with concessionary tickets on all forms of public transport and better advertising of concessionary fares.

Young people in Rotherham have been invited to attend a number of upcoming boards and consultation meetings. All parties involved, including the council, South Yorkshire passenger transport executive, South Yorkshire police and the individual operators welcome young people’s input. Rotherham council has appointed young people to its transport liaison committee, and the Rotherham transport users group is actively recruiting young people, as they are the people who are aware of the specific issues facing them. In Rotherham, we are trying to make the bus companies apply the 70p fare for young people to through journeys. Currently, if someone gets off one bus and takes another to complete their trip, they are charged 70p for each part of the journey, which often makes the cost prohibitive. Such schemes need to be adopted across the country. Rotherham has shown that by including young people in the decision-making process, change can occur.

Finally, I urge the Government to consider Labour’s proposals to enable transport authorities to improve local bus services through greater regulatory powers over fares and routes, and to consider a new statutory power for the Secretary of State to designate bus deregulation exemption zones. Without those interventions, I am afraid that the future for young people looks bleak.