Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Bus Strategy, what steps the Government plans to take to implement low flat fares in cities and towns.

The National Bus Strategy sets out that within cities and towns, we want low flat fares (or maximum fares and daily price caps) to be the norm. Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), which we expect local transport authorities to produce by the end of October, will need to set out ambitious visions for travel by bus, meeting the goals and expectations in the strategy. BSIPs will influence the share of the £3 billion transformation that each authority receives, and we will expect to see fares policy as an integral part of the plans. We will publish detailed guidance on preparing BSIPs shortly.