Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of trends in the cost of public bus services on school services to passengers.

The Department publishes an annual index of local bus fares from 1995 onwards.

This table can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/35990/bus0405.xls

This index covers operators of local bus services. The Department does not produce an index for local bus operators that operate a school service.

The bus market outside London is deregulated and decisions regarding setting the level of fares, is primarily a commercial matter for bus operators.