First buses to return to public control since deregulation to offer cheaper fares across integrated transport system
The first buses to be brought back into public control in England since deregulation in the 1980s will set out from depots in Bolton and Wigan on Sunday morning.
Greater Manchester will launch its Bee Network, which promises better, cheaper transport with fares capped across an integrated public transport system that combines buses and Metrolink trams.
Continue reading...LGA says services being put at risk by huge cost and calls way Whitehall funds scheme not fit for purpose
Councils in England are being hit by a “completely unsustainable” annual bill of more than £450m to prop up the free bus pass scheme, according to an analysis.
The Local Government Association (LGA), which calculated the figure, said the enormous cost was putting services at risk.
Continue reading...Exclusive: cuts come despite government’s levelling up promise to improve transport connectivity
Almost one in 10 local bus services were axed in Great Britain in the last year despite government promises to improve local transport connectivity being a key pillar of its levelling up agenda.
The reductions – equivalent to more than 1,000 registered routes – follow the publication of a national bus strategy for England in 2021, aimed at improving routes and service frequencies. The figures suggest the “bus back better” strategy, conceived under the then prime minister Boris Johnson, has failed to halt the decline in local bus services.
Continue reading...Campaigners welcome DfT’s temporary £60m subsidy to cut emissions and congestion, but say it should go further
Bus fares in many places across England will be capped at £2 for the winter under a government-backed campaign to encourage people back on to public transport.
Single fares on most major operators’ services will be limited from January until March under the scheme.
Continue reading...Charities and transport groups say hundreds more routes face axe without targeted help and long-term funding
Bus services will not survive without sustained Treasury funding, campaigners and industry groups have warned the chancellor after the cutting of hundreds of routes in recent months.
Transport charities and trade bodies have written to Jeremy Hunt asking for support before this week’s autumn statement urging him to guarantee short-term funding, give targeted help to local authorities, and bring in better long-term financial settlements.
Continue reading...Plan costing £60m is intended to help passengers during cost of living crisis and will come into effect in January
Bus journeys in England will be capped at £2 for three months amid concerns about the cost of living crisis.
The Department for Transport said the £60m plan could save passengers more than £3 for a single ticket.
Continue reading...Hourly bus serves local villages and brings staff – and sometimes customers – to Michelin-starred restaurant
With rural buses in long-term decline and a funding crisis putting more routes in peril, a surprising service has appeared on the English transport menu: the No 46 bus to Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons.
Raymond Blanc’s celebrated restaurant and hotel in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside may not appear classic bus territory. The Michelin-starred establishment’s seven-course dinner with matching wines starts at £350 a head, rising to just over £1,000 if you want to drink the good stuff.
Continue reading...Falling passenger numbers, rising costs and the forthcoming end of emergency government funding blamed for services being reduced or terminated
At least 135 bus routes across England have been lined up for cutbacks or closures this summer as councils and bus operators grapple with falling passenger numbers, staff shortages and funding constraints.
Changes to services include reduced frequency, fewer stops and some routes being cancelled. Among the proposed cuts, some of which have already been implemented, are 16 routes in London, 25 in Liverpool and about 40 across the north-east.
Continue reading...Move will reduce risk of infection for drivers during pandemic, says Unite
Cash payments on all UK buses should be abolished for the duration of the coronavirus crisis to reduce the risk of driver infection, the union representing bus workers has demanded.
Unite called on Wednesday for an end to cash payments on all the bus systems still operating across the UK to help drive down infection rates, particularly as the country enters the predicted peak period of the outbreak over Easter and beyond.
Continue reading...