The UK’S transport policy is in great danger of missing the bus
In just a few months’ time, the first trains will rumble through Crossrail – London’s sparkling new east-west link. It will be a crowning moment for a fantastic £15bn civil engineering project and it’s a fair bet that our head of state will inaugurate the new Elizabeth Line.
Every politician loves a new train set and an “opening”, and there will be many speeches waxing lyrical about enhanced British infrastructure. Crossrail is great and I applaud the vision and investment – but let’s take a moment to put it into the context of a rather lopsided approach towards transport.
According to the Government’s official figures, the average individual gets on a train 21 times per year – so once or twice per month. Hardly a rarity but not exactly an everyday occurrence either.
But there’s another, often overlooked, mode of public transport they’ll take 52 times annually, so every week of the year – the humble bus.
Buses are not as glitzy or aspirational as a brand new billionpound trainline. But they form not just the backbone of our transport network, but most of the joints and limbs too. And they are overwhelmingly used by the less affluent in our society.
If you look at households by income, those in the lowest 20pc typically travel 459 miles per bus annually – that’s roughly from London to Hamburg – and only 232 miles per train. In contrast, those in the top fifth by income go just 216 miles by bus but will sit on long-distance trains that travel for 1,370 miles.
Six out of 10 public transport journeys are by bus but this is a mode of travel that national politicians rarely use and routinely ignore. It’s beginning to show.
Some startling figures unearthed by the BBC last month revealed that the UK’S bus network has shrunk to its smallest size in over 20 years.
In the last four years alone,
134 million miles of bus routes across the UK have been lost. That’s an astonishing drop comparable in size to Dr Richard Beeching’s cuts to the rail network back in the Sixties.
Can you imagine the outcry if any other crucial public service shrunk to such an extent over a short period? If, for example, 30pc of schools, or prisons, or airports closed their doors? Or, perish the thought, if 30pc of parking spaces for motorists were removed?
A good deal of this decline is down to a funding squeeze among local authorities, which have had their grants reduced by central government, and now have difficult decisions to make. It’s short-termism though, and will damage both social mobility and employment: one in 10 bus commuters would be forced to look for another job or give up work altogether if they couldn’t get a bus.
If we want to provide more support for the least well-off then we must invest more in buses. Politicians must start understanding the value buses bring to society. Working together with local authorities and councils – commercially run bus services can help reduce congestion (a bus takes 75 cars off the road), improve air quality, and open up opportunities for jobs and education.
Investments by private bus companies in new buses, Wi-fi, charging sockets, journey planning apps, and real-time running information; as well as group fares and £1 flat fares for children – are all making travelling by bus easier and more comfortable. Independent research by the government watchdog Transport Focus reveals this is appreciated by customers, with 80pc
‘In the last four years alone, 134m miles of bus routes across the UK have been lost, that’s an astonishing drop’
of respondents saying they are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the service they get. We were also awarded 91pc in the latest bus passenger score, the highest we have ever received.
Where bus companies can work in partnership with local authorities to beat congestion and plan transport and land use together in a way that encourages bus use, the picture is very encouraging.
In West Sussex, the Fastway Bus Rapid Transit service developed by Go-ahead and West Sussex County Council has seen 160pc growth in passengers over 10 years and a 19pc reduction in car trips. Buses offer the opportunity to provide social and economic transformation with minimal costs and over shorter political cycles. However, they still lose out to “signature” infrastructure projects like Manchester Metrolink, the Edinburgh Tram and cycle super-highways.
A glance through Hansard last year reveals that buses have rated just 3,007 mentions by parliamentarians over five years, compared to 6,119 comments about trains.
We all share the same transport objectives – fewer traffic jams, good value, a quicker journey to work, cleaner air. And I don’t object at all to investment in projects such as Crossrail – after all, my company runs two of the country’s biggest rail franchises.
We’d benefit, though, from some sharper strategic thinking to halt any decline in Britain’s bus services. It would be great to see more politicians on route number 20 from Sunderland to South Shields, or on the 21 through Plymouth City Centre. Perhaps we could have a conversation on board about making transport policy more inclusive. To ensure that those who take the bus every day; due to convenience or their social background, have their voices heard.