Free Bus Travel: Over-60s

Debate between Tom Gordon and Simon Lightwood

Monday 5th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Simon Lightwood]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. I continue to work closely with the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire. I know that York and North Yorkshire is one of our franchising pilot areas, and a little later in my speech I will talk about the formula—the fairer formula—that has dictated the amounts that different areas across the country have received.

The funding I mentioned is in addition to the £1 billion we are already providing in this financial year to support and improve local bus services and to keep fares affordable. It enables councils and operators to protect local routes, improve reliability, upgrade stops, enhance accessibility and support local discretionary concessions, where it is judged right to do so. These measures should help to make bus travel more accessible and affordable for all, including the over-60s.

My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe specifically asked about supporting improvements to rural bus services. We know that bus services in rural areas can be a lifeline for many people, providing the only means of getting around. That is why, in our multi-year funding allocations for local authorities, we have revised the formula to include a rurality element for the first time, ensuring that the additional challenges of running services in rural areas are taken into account.

My hon. and learned Friend also asked about measures to ensure that local authorities use their bus funding to truly improve services for passengers. I can assure him that this funding will be linked to an outcomes framework, which will track the impact of funding against a suite of indicators aligned with the issues that matter most to passengers. Crucially, this framework will help us to identify where local transport authorities may need additional support to deliver the improvements that their communities expect.

We know that the debate around access to free bus travel is rooted in concerns about the affordability and quality of local bus services, and we are taking steps to address those concerns. The Government introduced the £3 single bus fare cap at the beginning of last year, and announced at the spending review that it would be extended until March 2027. The cap is helping millions of passengers to save on their regular travel costs. Without it, single fares on some services on the more expensive routes could soar above £10.

My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe asked what further steps the Government are taking to lower the cost of bus travel. Local leaders can use the funding provided by the Government to improve bus services and to introduce their own local fare measures below £3, if they wish to do so. That is already the case in places like Greater Manchester and the north-east.

The hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough raised the challenge of extending travel times for disabled person bus passes. The Government are committed to improving public transport—we have had the debate often—so that it is more inclusive and enables disabled people to travel safely, confidently and with dignity. Seventy-six per cent of local concession authorities offer some form of extension to the 9.30 am start time for disabled bus pass use. That could include full or partial extensions, or discounted travel before 9.30.

[Tom Gordon]

Will the Minister give way?

[Simon Lightwood]

I am going to make progress. I have a lot to cover, and I want to ensure that all Members get the courtesy of a reply.

We believe that the Government’s reforms to bus services more widely will help to improve access to local bus services. Our Bus Services Act 2025 starts to do just that by giving local leaders the powers that they need to deliver better bus services for passengers and empowering them to choose the model that works best in their area, whether that be franchising, strengthened enhanced partnerships or setting up local authority bus companies.

My hon. Friend the Member for East Thanet (Ms Billington) said that bus numbers matter. I quite agree, which is why I am pleased that 1 billion bus miles were travelled in the year ending March 2025—up 2% already. She also expressed concerns about her Reform-led council and ensuring that it invests that money fairly across its whole geography. The BSIP—bus service improvement plan—guidance is clear that improvements must deliver across the whole local transport authority.

My hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe highlighted the accessibility of bus services. Our Bus Services Act also takes steps to address that, by including a new requirement for local authorities to develop a bus network accessibility plan to review the current accessibility of the networks and how they will improve them in future. The Act represents the next phase in the Government’s ambitious bus reform agenda aimed at reversing the decline in bus services, improving the passenger experience and increasing bus usage nationwide. My hon. and learned Friend also highlighted economic growth and unemployment. As part of a modern and effective transport network, bus services have a vital role to play in delivering the Government’s mission to kick-start economic growth. We believe that improved services will contribute to lower unemployment by better facilitating access to jobs and education.

Let me make it clear that the Government recognise the strength of feeling expressed through this petition and the value of concessionary travel to those who use it. We remain committed to the scheme and to ensuring that it is sustainable for the long term. We will continue to empower local leaders to go further where it is right for their areas, and we will keep working with authorities and operators to enable them to deliver better, more reliable and accessible bus services across the country.

Once again, I thank my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe for bringing the petitioners’ views before the House, and all Members who have spoken for their contributions to this important subject. I look forward to continued engagement with Members as we implement reforms and support local decision making to the ultimate benefit of passengers.

Driving Test Availability: South-east

Debate between Tom Gordon and Simon Lightwood

Wednesday 26th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Simon Lightwood]

I hear what the right hon. Gentleman has said. I will leave no stone unturned when looking for solutions to drive down those test delays. Even with all the measures we have put in place—including the additional test allowance incentives for examiners, which resulted in 56,000 additional tests being conducted between June and October this year, when compared with the same period in 2024—we are still not able to keep up with the rising demand. Reducing waiting times remains our top priority and we will continue to do all we can.

I want to update right hon. and hon. Members on the measures announced by the Secretary of State for Transport to the Transport Committee on 12 November. They are based on the outcome of a major consultation—not rushed or knee-jerk as the Opposition said—that received more than 90,000 responses, and are designed to make the driving test booking system fairer and to stop learner drivers being exploited.

I acknowledge the stress experienced by those who feel the need to join the early morning website queues. There are more new booking slots available on Tuesday to Friday for those who choose not to or cannot book tests on Monday mornings, but there is more that we can do. That is why we are taking strong action against bots and third-party resellers. We will reform the booking system so that only learner drivers themselves will be able to book and manage their practical driving tests. The number of times that a learner can move or swap a test will be limited to two, and there will be a limit on the area that a test can be moved to once booked.

[Tom Gordon]

Will the Minister elaborate on whether there will be further input from driving instructors? Has there been an impact assessment of the effect that removing their ability to book tests will have on the system overall?

Disabled Bus Passes

Debate between Tom Gordon and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 10th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Tom Gordon]

I thank the Minister for giving way. I hope he notes that I was quite measured in my speech, and I genuinely believe that he wants to put disabled people at the heart of the review. When the Department looks at the impact on the financials and on spending, will it look at how if disabled people can get to hospital appointments, opportunities in education and out spending their money in our economy that might feed into funding the system?

[Simon Lightwood]

As I mentioned earlier, under the bus services Bill, local authorities will be tasked with producing a bus network accessibility plan—assessing bus networks in their area and identifying actions that they will need to take to improve access. Through the bus grant, local transport authorities can put in place mitigations to improve the accessibility, frequency and reliability of buses in their area.

I thank hon. Members for their contributions, particularly the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough for taking the time to raise this matter. I am sure we will have many more conversations about this and I applaud his persistence on the issue. I hope this response assures hon. Members that this Government are committed to working with local leaders and bus operators to help deliver better, more reliable and affordable bus services for passengers.

Question put and agreed to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Gordon and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 26th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)]

I am sorry to hear about the impact that that is having on Dorothy. As my hon. Friend will know, bus services are a devolved matter in Scotland. In England, we are taking action to put power over buses into the hands of local leaders through the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

T5. When the Government introduced the increased £3 bus cap, it saw the cost of a number of shorter journeys with local bus providers increase by more than inflation. What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that people are not feeling the effects of Labour’s bus tax?

[Simon Lightwood]

Participants in the bus fare cap are only able to increase bus fares by inflation, so if the hon. Gentleman wants to speak to me outside the Chamber, I would be happy to take that matter up for him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Gordon and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 13th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

The hon. Member will be pleased to know that the bus services Bill includes the socially necessary local services measure. Under the new measure, local transport authorities operating under an enhanced partnership will need to identify local services which they consider socially necessary and put in place requirements that must be followed before such services can be changed or cancelled. They will also need to consider the alternative options that are available.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

Last week I held a two-hour question and answer session with Disability Action Yorkshire. One issue that came up was the inability of disabled people to use their bus passes before 9 o’clock, limiting them in getting to work, accessing leisure opportunities or seeing family and friends. Does the Minister agree that one of the best ways to improve local bus access would be to be allow disabled people to use their passes before 9 o’clock?

[Simon Lightwood]

The Government already invest £700 million in the national concessionary travel scheme in order to fund those bus passes, and at the last Budget we announced over £1 billion of funding to support buses. We changed the formula for BSIP—bus service improvement plans—away from the competitive “Hunger Games” style contests under the previous Government. The hon. Member’s local area will have received funding and it is able to use that funding to go above and beyond what is set on a national level.

Taxi Licensing: Deregulation Act 2015

Debate between Tom Gordon and Simon Lightwood

Monday 21st October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Simon Lightwood]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his intervention, and I will certainly take a look at the report.

I understand that there are concerns about authorities’ ability to carry out effective enforcement in their areas, especially against drivers and vehicles that they have not licensed. We are considering numerous options to address that, but I would also urge caution. Certain options could have negative consequences, both for the sector and for passengers. Restricting operations could reduce the availability of services, increasing fares and waiting times for passengers, and bringing more dead miles for drivers. I am sure the last thing any of us would want to do is to drive members of the public into the cars of those who are unlicensed and unvetted, waiting at the roadside or offering rides on social media.

We also need to consider the context within which we are working. In England, there are 263 licensing authorities. A high number of authorities are, in some cases, responsible for licensing a very small number of drivers and vehicles which serve a small area.

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

Will the Minister give way?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Gordon and Simon Lightwood

Thursday 10th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (LD)]

Sorry, Mr Speaker. West Yorkshire borders my patch. Will the Minister ensure that a mass transit system in Leeds connects with places such as Harrogate just across the border, so that there is a combined approach for the entire region?

[Simon Lightwood]

I will bear the hon. Member’s contribution in mind and share it with colleagues in the West Yorkshire combined authority.