Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their justification for the further extension to the contract for Avanti West Coast, given its service record over the last six months.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Avanti West Coast (AWC) introduced a new timetable in December which amounted to an approximate 40 per cent increase in services. The first month did not see an improvement for passengers given the period of prolonged industrial action. Since then, AWC has demonstrated improvement in performance justifying an extension to October 2023, with cancellation rates falling to an average of 4.2 per cent in early March. AWC needs to do more to win back passengers with a reliable and dependable service.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to propose further fiscal measures to widen bus use, such as supporting (1) reduced, or (2) free, fares for everyone (a) under 21, or (b) in full-time education.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department currently has no plans to offer universal free or reduced fares specifically to those under 21 or in full-time education.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any agreements for areas looking to form enhanced partnerships under the Bus Service Improvement Programme grants have been signed; whether they are (1) fully, or (2) partially, funded; and if they are partially funded, what levels of financial need are funded.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Bus Service Improvement Plans are intended to demonstrate Local Transport Authorities’ vision for bus in local areas, and to draw on a number of funding sources over the long-term.
All 79 Local Transport Authorities in England outside London are pursuing either an Enhanced Partnership or developing a business case for franchising to deliver their bus services. 34 places have been allocated funding from the £1.1 billion Bus Service Improvement Plan budget.
Around half of the Local Transport Authorities that are pursuing Enhanced Partnerships have completed them so far. Bus Service Improvement Plan funding, in conjunction with City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements for Mayoral Combined Authorities, will support local bus transformation but is not intended necessarily to entirely fund all projects.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the grant funding within Bus Service Improvement Programmes is for physical measures only, or if it covers support for services too.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Bus Service Improvement Plan funding includes both capital funding for physical infrastructure, and revenue funding for fares measures and service enhancements.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will formally (1) announce, and (2) award, Bus Service Improvement Programme grants; and when the 34 areas chosen will receive (a) funding, or (b) written confirmation of funding.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
34 places received an indicative funding allocation for their Bus Service Improvement Plan.
24 had their allocations confirmed in August. For 10 places we have had further questions to resolve with the authorities first. Decisions on confirming those allocations will be made in due course.
Delivery of most of the allocated funding is conditional on the submission of a robust and ambitious Enhanced Partnership between the local council and bus operators. We are working closely with stakeholders to ensure these are in place, with the first round of grants expected to be released in November. Two locations are pursuing a system of franchising, for which the release of funding is conditional on adequate mechanisms being in place to deliver the improvement plan before franchising takes effect.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to improve local bus services through additional financial support to transport authorities and local government.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The National Bus Strategy, published in March last year, set out the Government’s vision for delivering better bus services for passengers across England.
In April, we announced over £1 billion of new funding for Bus Service Improvement Plans. 34 areas have since been selected to receive funding to deliver those plans.