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It is clear that buses play a crucial role in our transport system, with over two thirds of all public transport journeys made by bus. By next year, public expenditure on buses will have increased to £2.5 billion a year, up from £1 billion a decade earlier. The Government have put in place free local bus travel for older and disabled people within their local areas, and will extend that to cover local bus services across England from April 2008.
The bus review has shown that, in some places, bus services are working well. But in too many communities, the current framework is still not delivering the service that passengers rightly expect. Improving services in these areas demands better performance by bus operators and better traffic management by local authorities, and different approaches will be needed to reflect the diverse range of local circumstances that exist across the country. Crucially, higher quality and more reliable services are needed to make the bus a more attractive alternative to the private car and play its full role in tackling congestion and supporting economic growth.
The proposals published today therefore seek to provide a balanced package of measures that will
deliver a sustainable long-term future for the bus sector, by putting the needs of passengers first. They include:
enhancements to the existing arrangements for partnership schemes between local authorities and bus operators;
making 'quality contract' schemes a realistic option, while ensuring that schemes can only be brought forward where the benefits are sufficient to justify them, and safeguarding the legitimate interests of bus operators;
working with stakeholders to develop a new performance regime which holds both local authorities and operators to account for their contribution to the performance of local bus services;
giving more opportunity to the community transport sector, which plays a key role in many rural and other areas where services cannot be provided on a fully commercial basis; and
considering the scope for refocusing the current bus subsidy regime to ensure it remains targeted as effectively as possible, and supports the Government's environmental objectives.
The Government will be discussing these proposals with key interested parties, before including provisions in the draft Road Transport Bill which will be published later in this parliamentary session.
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