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Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Local bus services in England

Status: Open Opened: 6 May 2025 16 recommendations 13 conclusions 1 report

Local bus services are the most used form of public transport. The Department for Transport published its national bus strategy for England, Bus Back Better , in 2021. Government strategy has sought to make buses more frequent, reliable, better coordinated and cheaper, alongside supporting post-pandemic recovery. While bus services are mostly run on a commercial …

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
50th Report - Local bus services in England HC 892 29 Oct 2025 29 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
8 Conclusion 50th Report - Local bus services in Eng… Deferred

Rural bus service recovery remains challenging, requiring LTA-led improvements

We asked the Department what action it is taking to support rural areas which have seen significant cuts to bus services and poor performance, leaving would-be passengers stranded.13 The Department acknowledged that the recovery in bus usage was particularly challenging in rural areas. It told us it was up to …

Government response. The government's response discusses animal vaccine availability, research, and future plans, including an action plan by late 2026, completely unrelated to the recommendation on rural bus services.
HM Treasury
9 Conclusion 50th Report - Local bus services in Eng… Deferred

UK bus services perform poorly, demonstrating inadequate connectivity and significant economic costs.

Bus services in the UK perform poorly compared to those in other European countries. Fewer people can reach local city centres within 30 minutes than the European average. This poor connectivity costs the UK economy more than £23 billion per year according to Centre for Cities.16 We questioned the Department …

Government response. The government's response discusses sanitary and phytosanitary agreements with the EU and strengthening resilience to animal disease, completely unrelated to the recommendation on UK bus connectivity compared to Europe.
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
17 Jul 2025 Conrad Bailey · Department for Transport, Jo Shanmugalingam · Department for Transport, Stephen Fidler · Department for Transport View ↗

Correspondence

2 letters
DateDirectionTitle
14 May 2026 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport relating to…
4 Sep 2025 To cttee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to…