Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Better Buses Bill on connectivity in (a) rural and (b) underserved areas; and whether she plans to allow community transport schemes to participate in the enhanced bus services framework under the Bill.

As announced in the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024, the government will introduce a Buses Bill later this parliamentary session, which will put decision-making into the hands of local leaders, including in rural areas right across England. The Bill will seek to give local areas the choice of pursuing bus franchising, high quality partnerships with the private sector, or local authority owned bus companies. This will allow local areas to determine how best to design their bus services so that they have control over routes and schedules to ensure they reflect the needs of the communities they serve, including considering how community transport services, alongside regular stopping services, can improve the experience for bus passengers. The Bus Services Act 2017 requires that community transport operators are consulted as part of the franchising process.