Extract from
Westminster Hall debate on Zero-emission Buses
(Wakefield)
(Lab/Co-op):...In the absence of leadership on this issue from
the Government, large operators have resorted to setting their
own targets. National Express has committed to operating only
zero-emission buses by 2030, and Go-Ahead, First Bus
and Stagecoach aim to have fully decarbonised fleets by 2035.
Although that is commendable, the continued silence from the
Government on the end date for diesel bus sales will doubtless
have the biggest impact on smaller and more rural bus
operators...
To read the whole debate, OPEN HERE
Extracts from
Westminster hall debate on Bus Services: England
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con):...When visiting the First Potteries depot
a few weeks ago, I spoke to Zoe Hands from First
Bus about the exciting opportunity for a new
electric bus fleet to come to Stoke-on-Trent. First
Bus is ready and willing to invest £37 million in a
brand-new electric bus fleet for our great city, but this
ambition must be met with an around £11 million investment from
Stoke-on-Trent City Council. These brand-new buses would not only
encourage travel because they would be more modern and exciting
but make a huge difference to improving air quality in
Stoke-on-Trent. The fleet we currently have roaming around our
city is old, and a more reliable, modern fleet would reduce the
number of costly repairs, keeping buses on our roads and out of
workshops.
I am therefore working with First Potteries and my hon. Friend
the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South to make sure Stoke-on-Trent
City Council plays its part in facilitating this exciting plan
and invests that £11 million to support a new, sustainable bus
fleet. First Bus
has made it clear that if the council can deliver the necessary
investment and infrastructure, these new buses could begin
carrying passengers in early 2025. The Government have already
shown their ambition by allocating over £460 million in dedicated
funding for zero-emission buses in this Parliament, of which
Staffordshire County Council has already been a recipient. I have
now written to Stoke-on-Trent City Council about these exciting
plans, and I hope the council will deliver for people in
Stoke-on-Trent and make this sensible investment to enhance the
city's bus network...
(Sefton Central)
(Lab):...Although I welcome the better news that the hon. Members
for Stoke-on-Trent North and for Stoke-on-Trent South () shared about attempts to
improve the service, this is a very serious story across the
country. In 2023, an outspoken local politician in Stoke-on-Trent
said that the state of the buses and the figures were
“damning on the poor performance of operators like First
Bus
and that
“we need to…let current operators know they've been put on
notice.”
Those were the words of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North.
In fact, he has been an outspoken critic of his local bus
operators on multiple occasions, even going so far as to lecture
Ministers that
First
Bus continues to cut routes”
and it is
“time that First
Bus does its bit” [Official Report, 13 July 2023;
Vol. 736, c. 489.]
The experience that he describes demonstrates the reality of bus
deregulation under the Conservatives, and completely exposes the
failure of the Government's sticking-plaster approach to address
the problems of a creaking bus network...
...Despite the pleading of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent
North, deregulation has not compelled First
Bus to pull its finger out. Instead, it has robbed
communities of a say over the vital bus services on which they
depend. Micromanagement from Whitehall makes it ridiculously
complicated for local authorities to access the kind of funding
streams that he and Conservative Members were alluding to. It
simply has not achieved results...
(Stoke-on-Trent North)
(Con):...I thank the shadow Minister for his kind words about
where we do indeed have views in common. He is right that I said
to Goldenhill Community Centre that First
Bus Potteries was on notice. I was sick to the back
teeth of time and again seeing services cut, even after Ministers
had arrived to hear about our bus service improvement funding.
That led to more and more people feeling despondent, despite the
funding having been secured. I am delighted to say that new
services are now coming in, and we are therefore seeing
improvements. Independent surveys are saying that Stoke is second
best in the country for value for money and fourth for passenger
satisfaction. First is still on notice—I gave it until the end of
2024—but the direction of travel is right...
To read the whole debate, OPEN HERE
