Bus Services Act

One piece of legislation that I have been eagerly watching since it first arrived in Parliament has now been passed into law. The Bus Services Act was enshrined at the end of the month following Royal Assent. The Act aims to give local councils more control over how bus services are planned and run. 

It lets them set up franchising schemes (where councils decide routes, fares, and standards) or even run their own bus companies. As part of the Act’s provisions, councils must also create bus network accessibility plans to improve travel for disabled passengers. 

I must admit that there are aspects to this bill which I think could have a highly positive affect on rural constituencies like ours. For example, empowering local authorities to operate their own services and provisions is a long overdue provision. Now the local authorities must take steps to protect services which help people reach key goods, services, opportunities and activities (e.g. employment, health facilities, town centres).

However, I want to see the government go further to fully address the needs of rural areas, tackle lack of provision, and assist local authorities in the transition to net-zero buses. I am still very concerned that bus services should remain affordable, and will continue to campaign for the restoration of the £2 bus fare cap. 

As ever with legislation like this the devil is always in the details and it does not matter how much power is granted to Local Authorities if they do not have the funding to back it up. Areas like ours have been deprived of adequate infrastructure or the even the resources to create adequate infrastructure for decades and now is the perfect opportunity for us to make the case for Wiltshire. 

As the provisions of the Act are put into place, I will continue my dialogue with Ministers to ensure that rural communities like ours are not forgotten by those in Westminster.