Major companies across England are today (Friday, 17 May
2019) highlighting the important role buses play in
communities as part of #loveyourbus day.
The Department for Transport is joining bus companies
across the country to support the initiative, which
showcases operators’ best practice to encourage more people
to travel by bus.
Buses Minister has also written to
local authorities and companies today to highlight good
work across the country as well as reminding them of the
powers they have to take greater control of their area’s
bus services, such as franchising or enhanced partnerships.
Buses Minister said:
Buses are the most popular form of public transport and
play a vital role in communities.
Today is about celebrating the many success stories of
rising passenger numbers to inspire further growth in the
future – right across the country.
Areas which have seen passenger numbers rise between 2009
and 2018 are Bristol (50%), South Gloucestershire (36%),
Reading (31%), Central Bedfordshire (27%), Poole (38%) and
Brighton (21%).
The government continues to look at ways to increase bus
patronage and has given additional power to local
authorities, through the Bus Services Act, to set fares,
routes and timetables to give passengers the service they
deserve.
Each year the government pays £250 million to support bus
services in addition to the £1 billion spent on providing
older and disabled people free travel through the bus pass
scheme.
In addition, the Department for
Transport announced this year that it was funding an open
data platform to enable companies to develop smartphone
apps so people will have bus times, locations and fares at
their fingertips, giving them more confidence in using
buses to help drive up passenger numbers.
To help make buses environmentally friendly, the government
has also invested £161.5million to pay for new buses and
vehicle upgrades, which has led to more than 5,700 green
buses on our roads.
