Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the provision of audio and visual equipment on all buses.

The Bus Services Act 2017 amended the Equality Act 2010 to include powers to require the provision of audible and visible information onboard local services in Great Britain. In the 2021 National Bus Strategy, we affirmed our commitment to mandating such provision, and we intend to lay Regulations later this year. In the meantime, we welcome the efforts of operators introducing audible and visible information in anticipation of the new requirement, with 49% of local buses now incorporating it.

To support small operators to comply with the Regulations, the government has allocated £3.5 million to the Real Time Information Group (RTIG) to distribute to those operators that most need it.