Make our buses better and greener

FOR many people across Stockport, using a bus is an infrequent experience especially if they own their own car.

But for those who can’t drive or don’t necessarily want to, bus services can be a vital lifeline to getting out and about in their daily lives, whether to the shops or work or for leisure.

We all know the benefits of bus use, the environmental advantage of a public transport system as well as its ability to reduce congestion and take cars off our local roads.

Bus services account for almost 80 per cent of public transport journeys across Greater Manchester.

More frequent and better quality services are essential for Greater Manchester’s growth and would help local residents to contribute to and benefit from future economic prosperity.

So what can be done at a local level?

In April this year, the Government received Royal Assent for its Bus Services Bill.

This landmark Bill paves the way for more regulation on bus services to stop their decline and instead can put new responsibilities on bus services to operate routes via a franchising system. Commercially rewarding routes could be franchised on the condition that other less lucrative routes are run by the same operator as well.

The new powers also enable bus operators to provide the open data that is so important to passengers.

At present there is no obligation to provide information about fares, except at the point of boarding.

Live information via information screens at waiting stops and smartphone apps is key to helping passengers and encouraging the use of services.

It will also allow operators to understand local needs better so that services can be improved.

However, what makes these powers unique is that they can only be used in areas which have a directly elected Metro Mayor, making Greater Manchester one of the areas where, as part of the Northern Powerhouse agenda, we can take advantage of these new opportunities.

Not only can we use these devolved powers to help improve our air quality, reduce congestion and noise pollution but also to provide a better service to our residents.

As part of franchising conditions, we could encourage bus companies to consider electric vehicles to further reduce pollution and toxic emissions and allow seamless travel across Greater Manchester through smart ticketing.

We have a great chance to revitalise our local transport, so come on Andy Burnham, let’s get on with it!