Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps is he taking to improve public transport to provide an incentive to stop driving and lower emissions.

The Bus Services Act 2017 provides the tools that local authorities need to improve local bus services. It allows Mayoral Combined Authorities to franchise bus services and local authorities to develop partnerships with bus operators to take the actions which they’ve identified locally to incentivise uptake of public transport. Bus Open Data powers in the Act will require bus operators in England to open up information about routes, timetables, fares and tickets in real time for passengers by 2020. These improvements aim to improve journey planning and help passengers secure best value tickets. The Government is also investing record levels in the U.K. rail network, as part of the biggest rail modernisation programme for over a century