Conclusions and recommendations
Impact of the Spending Review
1. Local
authorities seem destined to make deeper cuts to their tendered
bus service budgets in 2012-13 than the current year. We call
on the Department for Transport and the Local Government Association
(LGA) to implement the recommendations in this Report as a matter
of urgency. We recognise that the scale of local authority budgetary
reductions in some areas mean that cut-backs are inevitable. It
must be demonstrated—not least for the benefit of bus users
around the country—that lessons have been learned from the
mistakes made during the current round of cuts to bus services.
(Paragraph 12)
2. The combination
of the reduction in local authorities' revenue expenditure and
changes to the Department for Transport's concessionary fares
reimbursement guidance in 2011-12, with the 20% reduction in Bus
Service Operators' Grant (BSOG) due to be implemented in 2012-13,
has created the greatest financial challenge for the English bus
industry for a generation. The combined impact of these funding
changes will, in some parts of the country, have a disproportionately
adverse impact on the provision of local bus services and the
level of bus fares. (Paragraph 20)
3. In these circumstances,
some local authorities have withdrawn services with inadequate
or no consultation. The evidence we have received from bus users
around the country demonstrates the anger and concern that people
feel about the impact of these decisions on their everyday lives.
Some of the most vulnerable people in society, including the elderly,
will be most affected by these changes. (Paragraph 21)
4. Local authorities
have faced widely varying degrees of budgetary reductions. We
recommend that the Department, in conjunction with the Local Government
Association, collate information about the decisions taken by
local transport authorities as a consequence of these reductions
in respect of tendered bus services in 2011-12 across England.
The Department should seek information about the provision of
alternative transport modes, such as community transport, in areas
where local authorities have scaled back tendered services. The
Department should identify examples of best practice of local
authorities that have responded innovatively to budgetary pressures
to provide a cost-effective, flexible mix of local transport services,
which provide an acceptable level of public transport for people
who might otherwise be isolated. The LGA should play a key role
in disseminating these examples of best practice across local
authorities. These findings should be made public. (Paragraph
22)
5. The real facts
need to be established for the effect of these policy changes
to be accurately measured, and for future decisions to be soundly
based. The Department for Transport, in conjunction with the LGA,
should compile details from local authorities about the impacts
of the Spending Review on commercial bus services in England,
outside London, in 2011-12. A similar exercise should be conducted
following the implementation of the reduction in BSOG in 2012-13.
(Paragraph 24)
6. We appreciate the
concerns of the bus industry that the reduction in BSOG next year
may, combined with other recent funding changes, affect the viability
of some commercial services. We welcome the Department of Transport's
commitment to review the arrangements for BSOG more broadly. As
part of its review, the Department should consider whether targeting
BSOG in a different way, possibly through greater devolution to
the local level, would improve the current approach. (Paragraph
25)
Consultation with local communities
7. Bus
services are often an integral part of the local community. It
is only right, therefore, that local people should have the opportunity
to voice their opinion if the local authority or integrated transport
authority proposes significant changes to bus services that it
supports. Some local authorities have faced very significant reductions
in their revenue budgets, but it is important that local people
are properly consulted when significant changes are proposed to
their bus services. Local people should have the opportunity to
give their views on the relative importance of different bus services
and to suggest innovative approaches. (Paragraph 29)
8. Local authorities
should be able to have access to authoritative guidance if and
when proposing significant changes to their tendered bus network.
The Department should task Passenger Focus to develop a 'consultation
toolkit' within the next six months for local authorities. This
should provide best practice guidance on how local authorities
can hold meaningful consultation processes with local communities
about bus service proposals. The LGA should disseminate this guidance
to local authorities prior to budgetary preparations for the 2012-13
financial year. (Paragraph 30)
9. Bus operators must
give 56 days' notice to the Traffic Commissioner for any changes
to a commercial service. We urge bus operators to encourage customer
feedback about their services and, wherever possible, to consult
with users and communities prior to submitting their registration.
(Paragraph 32)
Community transport
10. We
welcome the Department for Transport's decision to allocate £10
million to rural local transport authorities to encourage the
growth of community transport in their area. This came months
after the Department withdrew several ring-fenced transport funds
on the basis that local authorities should choose their own priorities.
The new fund is a welcome admission of the need for targeted funding.
(Paragraph 35)
11. The growth of
the community transport sector could mitigate, to a degree, the
effects of the loss of subsidised bus services. However, the evidence
suggests that community transport schemes are unlikely to replace
more than a small fraction of withdrawn local authority-subsidised
bus services. Community transport schemes are themselves often
reliant on public funding. (Paragraph 39)
12. An important role
for local authorities is to ensure that the community transport
sector is developed in tandem with conventional bus services.
Different ways of doing this will work best in different places.
The LGA should identify and disseminate examples of best practice.
(Paragraph 40)
13. If the Government
genuinely wants to encourage the growth of the community transport
sector, it should legislate to permit the use of the concessionary
pass on a wider range of community transport services. (Paragraph
42)
14. It is clear that
closer partnership working between local authorities, bus operators
and community transport operators will be necessary post-Spending
Review, in order to better utilise diminished resources. We encourage
local authorities and integrated transport authorities to use
the provisions within the Local Transport Act as means to achieve
better partnership working, where necessary. (Paragraph 43)
'Area-based integration' transport
15. There
is evidence of some potential for local authorities to reduce
costs through better co-ordination, planning and delivery of different
types of transport services, including public buses, community
transport, education, social care and health. The Government should
identify ways to overcome the barriers (including regulatory or
legislative barriers) to co-ordination, drawing on good practice
around the country. The LGA should have a key role in identifying
and disseminating best practice. (Paragraph 46)
Concessionary travel scheme
16. It
is obvious that the concessionary fares scheme is highly valued
by users and the evidence suggests the scheme provides a number
of social, economic and environmental benefits. There is likely
to be scope for further cost savings in the management and administration
of the scheme, particularly with advancements in smartcard technology,
and there may be a case for a one-off payment for the card. We
strongly believe, however, that the provision of free bus travel
for the elderly and disabled is to be valued. We endorse the Government's
commitment to protecting the entitlement. (Paragraph 50)
17. We recommend that
the Department of Transport commission further detailed research
into the benefits, and usage, of the concessionary fares scheme.
(Paragraph 51)
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