Transport secretary, Douglas Alexander, has ordered a route-and-branch review of bus policy in a bid to reverse the trend of plummeting patronage outside London.
He hopes to make decisions, following the review this autumn, in time for any legislation that might be needed to be included in the Queen’s Speech – outlining the Government’s programme for the new session – in November. Making the announcement about the policy review, his deputy local transport minister, Gillian Merron, told MPs that passenger transport executives and councils would be consulted and ministers would make visits to areas around the country. But she said any return to the 1980s-type regulation of buses was ruled out.
‘Outside the capital, bus useage is in general decline,’ she told the cross-party select committee. Over the coming months, we intend to take a long hard look at the issues so we can come to decisions on what needs to be done to reverse that trend. Our job is to find the right framework.’ Graham Stringer, former leader of Manchester City Council and Labour MP, asked what was ruled in and what was ruled out, and whether it would be a ‘blue skies’ consultation or whether there would be limits on the discussions. Merron, responsible for buses, said: ‘I don’t want to prejudge what the outcome will be. ‘What we want to see is greater reliability, greater quality of bus services, and greater bus patronage. It is about finding the right framework. ‘We want it to be as broad as possible in seeking views. It would be unwise to endorse or reject any particular aspects.’
However, she said the review would take account of any decisions by the communities and local government secretary, Ruth Kelly, on core cities – which could be a hint that transport powers may be devolved to city regions. Kelly is due to publish a White Paper in October. Philip Brown, senior traffic commissioner, told MPs that there had been a recent change in the attitude of the department towards buses. He said officials were now ‘fairly positive,’ but that was not the case 12 months ago. He complained that transport commissioners lacked adequate resources to monitor bus punctuality and said he would like to see the number of staff trebled. There was also a lack of will among a number of transport authorities to ensure that there was adequate provision of bus services, and a failure by them to develop meaningful partnerships with operators, he said.
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