Source · Select Committees · Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Recommendation 36
36
We welcome significant government funding for public transport, though we urge the Government to clarify...
Recommendation
We welcome significant government funding for public transport, though we urge the Government to clarify how much of its £3 billion for buses is for covid-19 recovery and how much is for investing in improvements. The Government should embed the accessibility of high streets by public transport—by people of all characteristics and from all backgrounds—in transport policy by: • including accessibility of high streets in the criteria for funding for local transport networks; • including within new guidance on Local Transport Plans a requirement that high streets are adequately served by public transport and that these transport links are affordable and inclusive; and a requirement that Local Transport Plans are integrated with Local Plans; • requiring funding for Bus Service Improvement Plans to be contingent on providing adequate, affordable and inclusive access to high streets; and • including advice on ensuring that high streets are adequately accessible by bus within guidance, promised in the National Bus Strategy, on the provision of economic and socially necessary bus services. • We also reiterate our recommendation from our report on devolution that the Government should consider the case for extending powers for Transport for London-style oversight of local buses to all transport authorities. (Paragraph 154) 74 Supporting our high streets after COVID-19
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
We have announced £3bn for buses over this Parliament. This includes money for bus improvement, zero emission buses and some of the support for the bus sector during the pandemic. The Spending Review confirmed £1.2bn for transforming bus services and a further £355m for zero emission buses. Overall bus funding for buses from 2020/21 to 2024/25, including through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements, will be over £5bn. UK Government will support Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to drive levelling up by publishing new guidance on Local Transport Plans, so that all LTAs can deliver updated plans by the end of this Parliament, with clear project pipelines and comprehensive strategies to improve local transport and reduce carbon emissions. All Local Transport Authorities have produced a Bus Service Improvement Plan. Amongst other things, we asked for these Plans to include proposals for: • Intensive services and investment on key corridors, with routes that are easier to understand; • significant increases in bus priority (e.g. bus lanes); • Fares to be lower and simpler; • Service patterns to be integrated with other transport modes (e.g. rail); and • Presenting the local bus network as a single system that works together, with clear passenger information We are confident that all of these areas will help High Streets be more accessible. We continue to review and assess the BSIPs covering all 79 LTAs and expect to provide details of indicative funding shortly. This will recognise that the budget available for transformation, including for Zero Emission Buses, is around £1.4bn for the next three years. The National Bus Strategy was published in March 2021 which set out the Government’s approach to bus franchising. The franchising powers within the Bus Services Act can currently be used by Metropolitan Combined Authorities (MCAs) at any time, but only by other Local Transport Authorities (LTA) with the Secretary of State’s consent and new secondary legislation. We support the use of franchising and will allow any LTA which has the capability to do so to pursue franchising where it would not needlessly delay the provision of better services. This will include demonstrating the capability in traffic management necessary to ensure buses are prioritised appropriately. All Local Transport Authorities were asked to start the initial processes for either franchising or an Enhancement Partnership scheme in June 2021. Five authorities, all MCAs, indicated that they planned to develop proposals for franchising either on its own, or alongside a partnership.