Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce regional disparities in transport funding.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We have made clear our ambition to invest in our infrastructure and level up opportunity across the country. We’ve already taken steps to do this, including developing the Midlands Rail Hub, pledging £500m to start to reverse the Beeching cuts and announcing £5 billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for every region outside London. As we look ahead we will continue to focus on levelling-up as we deliver an infrastructure revolution for the whole country.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to increase the number of people using buses.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Bus Services Act 2017 introduced new powers for local authorities and operators to work together to grow bus passenger numbers.
The £220 million Better Deal for Bus Users package provides new funding to help transform bus services and a series of complementary commitments, including a National Bus Strategy, which together will detail measures to increase bus usage.
On top of the £1 billion spent by the Government on concessionary travel for eligible older and disabled people, around £250 million is paid every year to support bus services in England to keep fares lower.
There is £5billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for every region outside London. This package of investment will boost bus services by focusing on a range of priorities, set to include: higher frequency services, new priority schemes will make routes more efficient, more affordable simpler fares and at least 4,000 new Zero Emission Buses.
Asked by: Taiwo Owatemi (Labour - Coventry North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that people in Coventry benefit from High Speed Two.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 will result in increased availability of seats for passengers travelling from Coventry to other inter-city destinations, and will also release capacity on existing routes in the West Midlands for additional local and regional commuter services.
HS2 will also form the backbone of the Midlands Rail Hub which will further strengthen connectivity between Coventry and cities of the Midlands and provide greater access to HS2 services.
I will ensure that HS2 Ltd continues to support Local Growth and Transport plans which maximise regeneration opportunities and improve connectivity between HS2 and other regional and national transport modes to enable quick and easy access to high speed services.
The West Midlands will be at the heart of the new high-speed rail network and my Department and HS2 Ltd will continue to work with regional stakeholders to ensure that the region, including Coventry, achieves the full potential of HS2.