Department for Transport to hand councils greater control of bus issues

Local transport authorities will be given greater control of bus issues at a local level under a package of measures announced by the Department for Transport.

The reforms will see a proportion of subsidy payments – made through the Bus Service Operators Grant – devolved to local authorities, rather than paid direct to bus companies.

The DfT said: “The government recognises that every area has their own travel issues and transport needs. It will now be up to authorities to decide how this money is spent.”

The Government is proposing that bus subsidy rules are tightened “so that it goes to truly local bus services and to exclude services such as rail replacement buses”.

New regulations will also be brought in as a response to the Competition Commission’s report into the local bus market. These are designed to ensure “healthy competition” between bus companies, the Department said.

A consultation is to be held with the Welsh Assembly Government, after which regulatory changes will be introduced to remove barriers faced by bus companies in England (outside London) and Wales that attempt to engage in competition on new bus routes and in new bus markets.

A further £15m will also be provided to increase investment in smart ticketing equipment, with a particular emphasis on helping small and medium-sized bus companies to install the systems. The Government’s aim is that by 2014, the majority of journeys by public transport will be made using a smartcard.

Guidance is being developed by the DfT, bus companies and local transport authorities on developing ‘reasonably-priced’ tickets that can be used on any bus, and not on just those of a single company.

The Department warned that legislation on multi-operator ticketing schemes might be necessary if guidance does not achieve sufficient change.

Local Transport Minister Norman Baker said: “This cannot be a one size fits all approach. Each local bus market has its own issues and challenges. The focus over the coming months is on guiding, empowering and encouraging local partners to be efficient, innovative and creative in coming up with solutions to the transport needs of local people.”

But critics claimed that the Government’s policies did not address the issue of cuts to services.

Sophie Allain of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “The new bus policy is welcome and giving councils more powers and funding may help, but today’s announcement is just a silver lining to a big black cloud of bus cuts and doesn't deal with the cuts to services across the country. These cuts matter because they stop people getting to jobs and training and also harm high street trade.”

Allain added the underfunding of the free bus pass scheme for pensioners and deep cuts in government bus funding still needed to be urgently addressed. “However, the proposals today do give councils new opportunities to improve buses and we will be pressing councils to use them,” she said.

Cllr Peter Box, chair of the Local Government Association’s Economy and Transport Board, described the minister’s announcement as “a positive move”.

But he claimed that the reforms did not go far enough. “Rather than Whitehall handing the majority of bus funding to private companies with no strings attached, councils and passengers should be put in charge of commissioning all local services,” he said.

“Bus companies can then be made to compete for local contracts ensuring councils get the most out of their diminishing resources and are able to create genuinely integrated public transport systems. The current philosophy that passengers benefit from bus companies competing at street level on commercial routes, temporarily reducing ticket fares or running more services to drive a rival out of business, doesn’t work in reality.”