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Written Question
Bus Services
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest assessment of (1) rural bus services in England, and (2) the effectiveness of the Bus Services Act 2017 in improving services.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Government's approach to improving bus services in England, including those in rural areas, is set out in the National Bus Strategy. We have announced more than £4.5 billion of funding for buses in England outside of London since 2020,
including:

o The recently announced £1 billion of funding redirected from HS2 to deliver better buses across the North and the Midlands as part of Network North;

o Over £1 billion allocated in 2022 to help LTAs deliver their BSIPs;

o £300 million in ongoing funding to support and improve services until April 2025;

o Nearly £600 million to cap single bus fares at £2 from 1 January 2023 until the end of 2024; and

o £2 billion between March 2020 and June 2023 to prevent reductions to bus services following the pandemic.

The Bus Services Act 2017 was accompanied by a suite of regulations to provide Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) outside London with powers to improve local bus services. These included enhanced partnerships (EPs) between bus operators and LTAs, and automatic franchising powers to all Mayoral Combined Authorities. 73 LTAs now have an EP in place and Greater Manchester expect to have a fully franchised bus network by March 2025.

The Bus Services Act 2017 also focused on introducing the Bus Open Data Service (BODS). The BODS was launched in 2020, and requires all bus operators of local services in England to open up high-quality, accurate and up-to-date bus service information including timetables, fares, tickets & vehicle location information.

The Bus Services Act 2017 also amended the Equality Act 2010 to enable the Government to introduce ‘Accessible Information Regulations’ as part of its commitment to creating an inclusive transport system. These regulations were introduced in 2023, which by Autumn 2026 will require the majority of local bus and coach services to incorporate audible and visible announcements as standard.

The Department is conducting a monitoring and evaluation exercise on the impact of the National Bus Strategy. The Bus Transformation Evaluation assesses the delivery and impact of Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) introduced by the 33 LTAs that received Phase 1 BSIP funding from the Department under the National Bus Strategy. A draft interim report is expected by summer 2024. In addition, the Department is also conducting monitoring and evaluation of the Inclusive Transport Strategy 2018, which includes an assessment of the impact of accessibility requirements introduced under the Bus Services Act 2017 to provide audible and visible information on buses. The Inclusive Transport Strategy: Evaluation Baseline Report was published in January 2022 and the final report is expected to be published later this year.


Written Question
Bus Services: Franchises
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of franchising more local bus services.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government will support any Local Transport Authority wishing to franchise their bus services.

The Bus Services Act 2017 provides automatic access to franchising powers to Mayoral Combined Authorities in England.

Other authorities can request those powers from the Secretary of State but need to demonstrate that they have the capability and resources to deliver franchising, and that franchising is the best option to deliver improvements for passengers.

The Department is currently revising the Bus Services Act 2017 Franchising Scheme Guidance, published in November 2017, to provide updated and detailed advice on the franchising process.

Regarding the current action on Go North East, I hope both sides can come to a mutually acceptable agreement that delivers for passengers.


Written Question
Bus Services: Franchises
Thursday 26th October 2023

Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)

Question to the Department for Transport:

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of franchising more local bus services.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Government will support any Local Transport Authority wishing to franchise their bus services.

The Bus Services Act 2017 provides automatic access to franchising powers to Mayoral Combined Authorities in England.

Other authorities can request those powers from the Secretary of State but need to demonstrate that they have the capability and resources to deliver franchising, and that franchising is the best option to deliver improvements for passengers.

The Department is currently revising the Bus Services Act 2017 Franchising Scheme Guidance, published in November 2017, to provide updated and detailed advice on the franchising process.

Regarding the current action on Go North East, I hope both sides can come to a mutually acceptable agreement that delivers for passengers.


Written Question
Bus Services: Franchises
Wednesday 25th October 2023

Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to release the revised guidance on franchising as set out in the National Bus Strategy for England.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Department is currently revising The Bus Services Act 2017 Franchising Scheme Guidance, originally published in November 2017. The revised guidance will provide simplified and updated advice on the franchising process for local bus services and is due to be published later this year.


Written Question
Bus Services: Franchises
Tuesday 16th May 2023

Asked by: Simon Lightwood (Labour (Co-op) - Wakefield)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to release the revised guidance on franchising as set out in the National Bus Strategy for England.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

The Department is currently revising The Bus Services Act 2017 Franchising Scheme Guidance, published in November 2017. The revised guidance will provide simplified and updated advice on the franchising process for local bus services and is due to be published later this year.


Written Question
Bus Services: Regulation
Friday 3rd February 2023

Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to make regulations under the Bus Services Act 2017 in the next year.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Yes. We plan to use powers introduced through the Bus Services Act 2017 to make the Accessible Information Regulations, requiring the provision of audible and visible information on local bus and coach services across Great Britain.


Written Question
Bus Services: Disability
Friday 20th January 2023

Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward regulations under the Bus Services Act 2017 to require bus operators to provide (a) audible and (b) visual information on all bus services on the (i) next stop and (ii) final destination of that service.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

I want to ensure that disabled people have the confidence to travel by bus and recognise that audible and visual information supports that. I remain committed to making Accessible Information Regulations, so that passengers can begin benefitting from audible and visible route and stop information as soon as possible.


Written Question
Bus Services: Disability
Monday 14th November 2022

Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's consultation on Bus Services Act 2017: accessible information, which closed on 16 September 2018, when he plans to publish (a) his Department’s response to the consultation and (b) associated regulations.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

In the 2021 National Bus Strategy, the government committed to require local bus services in Great Britain to provide onboard audible and visible information, subject to final analysis.

The provision of accessible information is monitored through the Department’s annual bus statistics survey[1]. In March 2021, 34% of buses across Great Britain met specific criteria on the provision of audible and visible information. The statistics for 2022 are yet to be published.

We do not routinely collect statistics on the split between equipment retrofitted to vehicles and installed at the point of manufacture. We will publish the consultation response and confirm our next steps in due course.

[1] Annual bus statistics: year ending March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)


Written Question
Bus Services: Standards
Thursday 22nd September 2022

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the requirements of the Bus Services Act 2017 are met in good time.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Bus Services Act 2017 does not contain any time constraints on the introduction of Enhanced Partnerships (EPs) or franchising. However, since publication of the National Bus Strategy, all local authorities in England are pursuing either an EP or developing a franchising business case.

We know that the provision of audible and visible information onboard local services can support a range of passengers to travel confidently. The 2021 National Bus Strategy included a commitment to use powers in the Bus Services Act 2017 to make Accessible Information Regulations, subject to final analysis, and we continue to work towards this goal.

We have now delivered the core components of the Bus Open Data digital service, data standards and the majority of the bus industry is compliant with the regulations. The current focus is working with non-compliant bus operators to support publication, enabling app developers and technologists to use the service.


Written Question
Bus Services: Travel Information
Wednesday 20th July 2022

Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have not (1) responded, or (2) taken action, following their 'Bus Services Act 2017: accessible information' public consultation, which ran from 5 July 2018 to 16 September 2018.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Department agrees that it is essential that buses should have accessible onboard information to help all passengers to travel with confidence. Since the 2018 consultation the Department has worked with industry specialists to determine the most appropriate way forward, and to ensure that the proposed Regulations take full account of the way local services are provided in England, Scotland and Wales.