Transport Select Committee: National Bus Strategy for England

EVIDENCE SESSION: National Bus Strategy for England

09.30, Wednesday 21 April 2021

The Transport Committee welcomed the announcement of the Government’s National Bus Strategy for England which promises simpler fares, new buses, improved routes and higher frequencies of services. The Committee previously called for a national strategy in its 2019 inquiry on the Health of the Bus Market outside London.

In this one-off session, MPs will question organisations representing bus operators and local councils, followed by the responsible minister, Baroness Vere of Norbiton. MPs want to learn how the strategy will be delivered and whether it’s a credible response to the challenges presented by covid-19, climate change and the need to level up across England.

Likely topics for discussion include:

• how the Government plans to improve bus services over this Parliament, including how it plans to spend the £3billion it has allocated to transform bus services over this period.
• whether the National Bus Strategy is a credible response to the challenges facing the bus industry and the country, both now and in the future, including Covid-19, climate change and the need to level-up the country.
• how this strategy will be delivered on the ground, especially within local transport authorities.

The focus of this session is on the provision of bus services outside London, as responsibility for buses in London is devolved.

Witnesses from 09.30:

• Graham Vidler, Chief Executive, Confederation of Passenger Transport
• John Carr, Board Member, Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers
• Mark Kemp, Director of Environment and Infrastructure, Hertfordshire County Council

At 10.15:

• Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport
• Stephen Fidler, Director for Local Transport from the Department for Transport.

Please note that Parliament has stopped all non-essential visitor access to both Houses due to the circumstances around coronavirus. The session will be available to watch online, and a transcript will be published on the website a few days afterwards.

Further information:

• Bus Back Better: Read the Department for Transport publication, published
• The Committee took evidence on the impact of covid-19 on the bus sector and the priorities for reform in February 2021. Read the transcript.
• The Health of the Bus Market: Read the 2019 Transport Committee report