Travel: Night-time Economy

(asked on 10th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the (a) availability and (b) affordability of (i) public and (ii) other forms of transport on the safety of workers in the nighttime economy; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Trudy Harrison Portrait
Trudy Harrison
This question was answered on 13th January 2022

The Government recognises the vital role that safe public transport, including taxi and private hire vehicles, plays in getting people to and from work at all times of the day and night.

Bus Back Better, the Government’s national bus strategy published last year, recognises the important role buses have to play in meeting local transport needs. Through the Bus Service Operators Grant £259 million of funding is available annually to be claimed by operators of qualifying services. This enables operators to keep fares down and ensure services are run which otherwise would not be, providing greater accessibility to bus services than otherwise would be the case. As part of the strategy the Government plans to issue new guidance on ‘socially necessary’ services, expanding the category to include ‘economically necessary’ services such as those supporting the night time economy.

Taxis and private hire vehicles play an important role in supporting the night-time economy when mass transit may not be so readily available. As of 31 March 2021, there were 251,100 licensed taxis and private hire vehicles. Local authorities have the power to set taxi fares for journeys within their area, and most authorities do so. Local authorities have no power to set fares for private hire vehicles. Fares for private hire vehicles, which must be pre-booked with a licensed operator, are set by the operator. The competitive pre-booked market allows operators to compete on price as well as other factors such as quality of service.

The Department has worked with Local Transport Authorities and light rail operators to ensure the availability of light rail public transport is correct for the conurbations they serve. Light rail coronavirus (COVID-19) funding has ensured Local Transport Authorities can continue to operate services for the people of their region allowing for access to jobs and leisure, and that this remains unaffected by any impacts the pandemic may have had.

Maintaining a safe and secure railway remains a priority for Government, through initiatives such as the British Transport Police’s 61016 campaign.

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