Oral Answers to Questions

Helen Goodman Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Jesse Norman]

I can only congratulate my hon. Friend on his astonishing timing, because the Department will be discussing this matter—both the timetable and the scope of the study—with council officials on 21 February.

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

14. What recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of journeys taken by bus in England.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

Buses remain the most commonly used mode of public transport, with local bus travel accounting for around 59% of all public transport journeys. The number of local bus passenger journeys has been falling since the 1950s. By contrast, the number of people owning their own cars has obviously been increasing.

[Helen Goodman]

It is now cheaper to fly to Alicante than to take a bus from Barnard Castle to Spennymoor in my constituency. Many of my constituents say that the buses are just far too expensive. Does the Minister not understand that her cuts to the bus grant are the problem?

[Ms Ghani]

I would not want anybody not to be flying to Alicante, but it is important to note that, when Labour was in control, bus fares went up three times as fast every year than under the Conservative Government. Anybody who wants to be out of pocket should vote in a Labour Government, because they will put up bus fares three times as fast.