Extracts from Public Bill committee for the Bus Services Bill - March 14
Wednesday, 15 March 2017 08:07
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Andrew
Jones):...The door will most certainly be open. We do not seek to
put barriers in the way. The whole point about the Bill is that it
is an enabling one. My last conversation with Cornwall suggested
that it probably would not go down the route of franchising, so it
may not seek to make an application to the Secretary of State.
However, it has done something interesting with its bus market,
which is why Cornwall gets a lot of...Request free trial
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
(Andrew Jones):...The door will most certainly be open. We
do not seek to put barriers in the way. The whole point about the
Bill is that it is an enabling one. My last conversation with
Cornwall suggested that it probably would not go down the route of
franchising, so it may not seek to make an application to the
Secretary of State. However, it has done something interesting with
its bus market, which is why Cornwall gets a lot of attention. A
partnership has been established with the primary local provider in
Cornwall—FirstGroup, I think—which has changed networks
and routes and co-ordinated services. We are seeing the company
invest in a new fleet, and patronage on the bus network has grown
and the market has become profitable. Cornwall is an interesting
example of what can be achieved by working together, which is why
the authority is often discussed and held up as a poster area for
the marketplace. Interestingly, it is using some of the powers in
the Bill before we have got to the Bill, but not necessarily in the
franchising area...
(Blackley and Broughton)
(Lab):...This is a slightly historical case, but
some years ago the FirstGroup buses in Rochdale were in
such poor condition that the wheels fell off while they were going
along. The traffic commissioner wrote a report about it and the
company was fined. FirstGroup does not therefore have a
great record. It is also the case, not just anecdotally —there is
some evidence, and even more anecdotal evidence—that when buses are
delayed for whichever of those three major reasons, they do not
complete the route. They take shortcuts. It would be in the
interests of public service if each bus had to carry a GPS, so that
under the deregulated system, and more so under a franchised or an
enhanced quality partnership, the taxpayers and the local transport
authority could know where the buses were at any particular time. I
would interested in hearing whether the Minister thinks that all
buses being required to carry GPS, and have its information made
public, would help our understanding of what is happening to bus
services...
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