6 Conclusion
52. Bus services are vital to some people to enable
them to participate in employment, education and voluntary work.
They are sometimes vital for access to health services and shops,
providing the necessities of life. For many they are an important,
if not vital, lifeline to social life, cultural experiences, sporting
events and other elements of a full life. Our inquiry focussed
on the funding of bus services in England outside London in the
light of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The Government wills
the end of better and cheaper bus services: there is not much
evidence that it is willing to provide the means.
53. The Government's aspirations to improve the passenger
experience, for example by having the majority of public transport
journeys smartcard-enabled by 2014, are of little consolation
to the many bus users around the country who have witnessed, or
who may soon witness, their local bus service being withdrawn
or fares rising above the rate of inflation.[132]
Many local authorities, faced with a combination of cuts to their
budgets, have reduced funding for subsidised bus services. Bus
operators too have reduced commercial services with little notice
and no consultation. In some cases whole sections of the bus network
have been scaled back, with little or no proper consultation with
local communities either by local authorities, integrated transport
authorities or commercial operators, and no adequate alternative
public transport in place. Given that there may be deeper cuts
in 2012-13, there are clearly lessons to be learnt. Both local
authorities and integrated transport authorities and commercial
operators should consult more widely; and local authorities and
integrated transport authorities should use the measures available
in the Local Transport Act more imaginatively.
54. The Minister argues that local authorities have
ultimate responsibility for their tendered bus network. Local
councillors are accountable to their electorate for their actions.
With the increased emphasis on devolved decision-making there
is, in our view, a pressing need for examples of good and bad
practice to be effectively shared between local authorities. We
consider the Local Government Association (LGA) to be most appropriate
body to take on this role. In this Report we recommend a number
of ways in which the LGA should identify and disseminate best
practice examples of ways in which local authorities can deliver
cost-effective, flexible transport services, including community
transport and/or area-based integration transport. We suggest
that it should also work with Passenger Focus to provide guidance
to local authorities about how to consult meaningfully with residents
about proposals to change local bus services.
55. The Government cannot wash its hands of any responsibility
for enabling this to happen. The Department for Transport must
put its full weight behind helping those directly responsible
find solutions to the social and economic impacts of the disappearance
of the only public transport that may be available in some places.
It is also the DfT who should be monitoring, analysing and drawing
conclusions about the effects of changes in bus services, and
the wider costs and benefits to the country of policy decisions
which affect those services.
132 Qq 280, 285 Back
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