Tue 24 Mar 2020, 04:56 AM | Posted by editor
LETTER from Mark Langabeer, Newton Abbot Labour Party
Richard Bilton, a reporter for the BBC’s Panorama programme, highlighted some of the problems facing the bus industry over the last ten years. Although buses are the most used form of public transport in the UK, the last ten years has witnessed a loss of 159 million bus miles. This represents about a 10% fall in the level of services. Only in London have services been maintained. The loss has been 19% in the North-East, 18% in the North-West and 18% in Wales.
Bilton travelled on a number of services in and around the North and interviewed passengers about their local services. The principal complaints were cost, levels and reliability of services. Local Councils have had their central government grants cut by 60% since 2010 and more than a half of all councils have reduced their bus subsidies by 50%. The bus operators will only run services at a profit and here lies the nub of the problem.
Around nine million people are eligible for free bus passes, mainly retired and those with disabilities. Even in this group, travel has fallen by 21%. If there are few or no services, then the value of a free pass becomes negligible. Based on those that live further than 1.2 miles from a bus stop, around 1.3 million do not even live near a bus route.
Bilton points to the fact that London receives around £90 per person in subsidies the rest of the UK receives £30 per person. London is regulated, which means that fares and routes are made by the regulator, not the operator, as in the rest of the UK. It’s also integrated with tube and train travel. However, the main operators are pretty much the same as those outside the London area.
The Government has announced a £5bn investment into new electric buses and increasing bus lanes, in an attempt to improve reliability. Whether this extra money is sufficient is another story. Given the scale of the coronavirus crisis, it’s doubtful whether this promise will be kept. In my view, only the nationalisation of the big three operators can ensure an improved and cheaper service. Bilton pointed out that there are profitable services that could subsidize the loss-making routes in rural areas. Only a publicly-owned service can do this.
