Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
3rd Report – Buses connecting communities
Transport Committee
HC 494
Published 13 August 2025
Recommendations
8
Accepted
Reform the Bus Service Operators Grant to incentivise ridership growth in under-served areas.
Recommendation
The Department should, as soon as practicable, reform the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG). The overarching goal of reform should be to incentivise growth in ridership, particularly across under-served areas, for example instead of mileage the grant could be based …
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Government Response Summary
The government states it has already taken steps to reform BSOG, including incentives for zero-emission buses and devolving parts of the budget to LTAs. It agrees on growing ridership but expresses caution about passenger-based metrics.
Department for Transport
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33
Accepted
Introduce a new regional bus performance metric to compare services and benchmark progress.
Recommendation
This vision should also be complemented by a new regional performance metric that enables meaningful comparison of services across different parts of the country. The metric should cover key indicators such as service frequency, reliability and passenger satisfaction, and it …
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Government Response Summary
The government accepts the recommendation and will implement a new regional performance metric through Outcomes Frameworks for Mayoral Strategic Authorities and a Bus Indicator Pilot, which will be extended to all LTAs from April 2026. This system will cover key indicators for comparison and benchmarking, with data made publicly accessible.
Department for Transport
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Conclusions (2)
18
Conclusion
Accepted
We welcome the Government’s ambition to enable local transport authorities to undertake franchising. However, many local authorities continue to face operational and capacity challenges which may be further strained by implementing such a complex reform. The Department must take a greater role in strengthening local authority capacity to ensure effective …
Government Response Summary
The government commits over £1 billion in the Autumn 2024 Budget to support and improve bus services and keep fares affordable in 2025/26, stating it will empower and support local authorities to deliver its vision for bus services.
20
Conclusion
Accepted
Lack of access to consistent data about current services to support business cases creates an unnecessary barrier to franchising. The Department’s approach puts the cart before the horse: local authorities need access to the full range of relevant information before deciding whether to pursue franchising. (Conclusion, Paragraph 77)
Government Response Summary
The government states that local transport authorities already have statutory data powers, requiring operators to provide necessary data for franchising assessments. It clarifies that this will be further detailed in the next revision of the franchising guidance.