Source · Select Committees · Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Not Addressed
Paragraph: 102
Although reducing the use of public transport has been necessary during the pandemic, action is...
Recommendation
Although reducing the use of public transport has been necessary during the pandemic, action is needed to prevent a permanent shift in public attitudes towards it. As restrictions are lifted, the Government should work with local authorities and providers to reassure the public that public transport is safe and to promote its use. We welcome the Government’s efforts to help maintain public transport capacity through financial support to providers, given the likely shift in public behaviours this will need to be maintained for a period after restrictions are lifted. As restrictions are lifted, the Government should work with local authorities and providers to reassure the public that public transport is safe and to promote its use. We welcome the Government’s efforts to help maintain public transport capacity through financial support to providers, given the likely shift in public behaviours this will need 46 Air Quality and coronavirus: a glimpse of a different future or business as usual to be maintained for a period after restrictions are lifted. The Government will also need to consider whether the financial stress providers are under will slow their move to cleaner vehicles and whether further public investment will be needed to maintain momentum.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government's response focused on funding for active travel, cycling, and walking initiatives, rather than addressing the recommendation to reassure the public about public transport safety, promote its use, or consider financial support for public transport providers to transition to cleaner vehicles.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
102
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government · verbatim extract
Not Addressed
The government’s policy has been to reassure the public that public transport is safe to use, even in the context of current restrictions. Our message has been that the public must adhere to the ‘Stay Home’ guidance, other than for essential journeys; but where essential journeys must be undertaken, it is safe for them to be undertaken on public transport, provided that Government safety guidance is followed. As restrictions lift, we will work with operators and local authorities through a range of stakeholder engagement channels to reinforce the message that public transport is safe to use. Going forward, the government’s forthcoming National Bus Strategy will focus on the needs of passengers so that more people want to use the bus, and will set out how national and local government and the private sector will come together to serve local communities. The Department for Transport recognises that buses will continue to play a significant role in helping the economy meet our net zero ambitions and improve air quality. As set out in the Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution and Spending Review 2020, the Government will invest £120m in 2021–22 to start the delivery of the 4,000 zero emission buses announced by the Prime Minister last year. Further details on how the first year of funding for the 4,000 zero emission buses will be distributed will be announced in the spring. The Government is currently providing up to £27.3m per week of emergency bus funding through the covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) scheme. This funding will continue until it is agreed that it is no longer needed. The government will work with operators and local authorities to ensure that the transition from emergency CBSSG funding to long-term recovery is timed appropriately.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗