Lucy Allan MP has welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement of a revolutionary national bus strategy, backed by £3 billion of investment, that will see passengers across Telford benefiting from more frequent, more reliable, easier to use and understand, better coordinated and cheaper bus services.
The strategy will require Telford & Wrekin Council to work in partnership with bus operators to improve services for passengers in order to be eligible for funding in future.
Councils and operators will be expected to provide:
- Simpler single bus fares with daily price caps, so people can use the bus as many times a day as they need without stacking fares.
- More services in the evenings and at the weekends.
- Investment in electric buses to replace diesel and help the environment.
- Integrated services and ticketing across all transport modes in the area similar to the model used in London, so people can easily move from bus to train.
- Easy to access information, including online, so that services are simple to use.
- All buses to accept contactless payments.
Councils will also need to franchise services, as is the case in London, or establish statutory partnerships with operators – ensuring that they work in collaboration for the benefit of passengers. They will also be required to publish an improvement plan.
Such improvements will be underpinned by fundamental reforms to the sector, and will see operators need to work with their local councils on targets for improving passenger numbers, reliability and passenger satisfaction, to be eligible for future government funding.
Only councils and operators who work to meet these requirements will continue to receive the around £100 million per month emergency Covid funding for the sector, or any new sources of funding from the £3 billion investment.
Telford MP, Lucy Allan, said:
“Good bus services can have a transformational role in places like Telford, unlocking job opportunities, boosting connectivity and supporting economic growth.
This new National Strategy Bus Strategy, backed by £3 billion, will help make to make this a reality – paving the way for simpler fares, more reliable services, and better connections across every part of the country.
At the last general election, I stood on a manifesto that promised to level up and improve transport connections across Telford, and this boost to our local bus services will help to deliver on that promise.”
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson MP, said:
“Buses are lifelines and liberators, connecting people to jobs they couldn't otherwise take, driving pensioners and young people to see their friends, sustaining town centres and protecting the environment.
As we build back from the pandemic, better buses will be one of our first acts of levelling-up.
Just as they did in London, our reforms will make buses the transport of choice, reducing the number of car journeys and improving quality of life for millions."
