Bus Franchising

Debate between Simon Lightwood and Sean Woodcock

Monday 9th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sean Woodcock (Banbury) (Lab)]

At the weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the unveiling of two brand new community-owned green buses in the village of Middle Barton in my constituency. After 14 years of devastation to public bus services in Oxfordshire, such community-led schemes can go a long way to filling the gap. Does the Minister agree that a decade of renewal promised by this Labour Government must see an improvement and regeneration in rural bus services?

[Simon Lightwood]

Absolutely. We want to give local transport authorities and leaders the power to take back control of bus services, to shape the future of those services to accurately reflect the needs of individual communities.