Last week the parliamentary committee I chair expressed serious concern about the way in which the withdrawal of many bus services - and fare increases well above the rate of inflation in some areas – is causing genuine hardship to people who rely on this least glamorous but most widely used form of public transport.
Our inquiry into bus services after the spending review was not an exercise in allocating blame at the door of either central or local government. It was a serious attempt to examine the impact of changes made in order to live within constrained local government budgets.
As part of this we gathered considerable amounts of evidence from diverse members of the public, angry and dismayed about their inability to access work, healthcare, shops and other basic amenities.
We could not fail to recognise the financial challenge facing many councils, but nor could we ignore the way in which too many local transport authorities have scaled back whole sections of the bus network – especially those serving rural communities in the evening or at weekends – without undertaking adequate consultation with bus passengers, and with vulnerable groups including the old, the young and the disabled.
Nationally, we caution ministers that they cannot simply wash their hands of all responsibility for future bus provision. We warn the government that it must monitor the extent of service cutbacks made this year and review service provision again after bus service operator grant cuts take effect in 2012–13. Without sufficient data it will be near impossible to analyse or draw conclusions about the wider costs and benefits of service changes to the country as a whole. The Department for Transport must also work to help those directly responsible at a local level find cost effective solutions.
We also call for the concessionary travel scheme for the elderly and disabled to be retained; despite its considerable cost (circa £800m outside London) this initiative remains excellent value for money.
We also call on the government to legislate to allow this concessionary pass to be used on a wider range of community transport services than at present, to encourage growth in that sector. While these can provide some alternative services, we found no evidence that community transport will ever replace more than a small proportion of those bus services being rapidly withdrawn. And for community transport to thrive and to make the best use of very scarce public monies, local authorities and bus operators must build strong partnerships and work harder to share ideas for serving remote communities more widely.
Bus journeys: the facts
• Buses are the most available and frequently used mode of public transport in England, carrying two thirds of all passenger journeys.
• The 2010 spending review imposed three changes on funding available for the English bus industry: local authority revenue expenditure was cut this year by 28%; changes were made to the DfT's formula for concessionary fare reimbursements; and the bus service operators grant will be cut by 20% from 2012-13.
• At least 1,700 community transport organisations operate in England. The concessionary fares scheme applies to very few of these (although some local authorities do permit this for certain schemes). Reform is required to extend these arrangement to include dial-a-ride and other services.
Louise Ellman is MP for Liverpool Riverside and chair of the House of Commons transport select committee
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