Written evidence from J Richardson-Dawes
(BUS 108)
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on changes
to local bus services.
In the context of severe reductions in Government
funding, it is understandable that local authorities have had
to consider their service priorities. Whilst a large proportion
of local authority services are based on statutory duties, the
payment of subsidy to non-commercial local bus services is a power,
not a duty.
Nevertheless, some authorities have failed to give
due weight to the importance of local bus services in underpinning
people's social and economic well-being. "Socially necessary"
in the context of Deregulation means precisely that. Quite literally,
large numbers of people build their lives - decisions as to where
to live, work, send their children to school etc—around
public transport links. Such dependence exists not just in car-owning
households and I quote my own as an example.
We are currently a four-adult household: two parents
+ two grown-up offspring. I am the only qualified driver. My wife
uses local buses on business. My daughter depends on a local bus
to go to work. My son, a student, uses local buses to get to vacation
work. We all use local buses for social activities and leisure.
All of the services we use for essential travel are County Council-subsidized.
Devon County Council has reduced its budget for local
bus subsidies in 2011-12 by £1.35 million - about 20%. The
Council has been careful in its decisions as to which services
to reduce or withdraw and has genuinely sought to minimize the
impact on people and communities. Even so, lives have been disrupted
or literally ruined. Jobs will be lost, family links broken, education
disrupted.
It is unrealistic to expect the community sector
to step in. Community transport does well in complementing mainstream
public transport services, but it does not have the potential
to expand on anything like the scale necessary to replace bus
networks. The biggest single cost element in public transport
is the cost of drivers. The community sector's sole significant
advantage therefore is its use of volunteer labour. There is a
chronic shortage of volunteers. If expansion entails increasing
use of paid drivers, then the sector loses its cost advantage.
The sector should not be assumed even to be cost-effective. A
community group which buys a new minibus only to have it standing
idle through lack of drivers or organization to use it is a bigger
waste of money than any conventional bus service.
The National Bus Pass scheme should be seriously
reviewed and in due course curtailed. At the same time as reducing
bus subsidies by £1.35 million, Devon County Council is legally
obliged to spend around £12 million on the National Bus Pass.
We are now in the absurd situation where people have a free pass,
but fewer buses on which to use it. Increasing numbers of people,
when considering the issue carefully, conclude that, rather than
have a free fare on a declining network, they would happily pay
a half-fare and have the savings used to improve the bus network.
It is also highly debateable whether all recipients of free travel
genuinely need it. With respect to travel costs there is just
as much hardship among younger working people as among the retired.
It is especially grieving to see working people lose their jobs
because of bus cuts, while comfortably off retired people enjoy
free leisure travel.
With respect to taking passengers' views into account
when planning changes to bus services, my sympathies shift towards
local authorities and bus companies. The public expect fabulous
bus services but are generally unwilling to pay the fares or the
taxes to support them. Moreover, it is all too common for communities
to lobby for service improvements only for these to be poorly
supported in terms of passenger usage. It is unrealistic to expect
bus companies and local authorities to risk scarce resources on
service provision based over-optimistic passenger representations.
Bus companies acting commercially generally have a very good idea
how to run successful services which are responsive to genuine
demand. Local authorities likewise, if they work with their bus
companies are generally good at allocating resources where the
passenger numbers are sufficient. There is no reason to suppose
that parish councils or self-appointed groups and individuals
are representative of genuine demand. "bums on seats"
is what matters and the commercial imperative among bus companies
plus local authorities spending wisely can generally identify
where they are.
I would go on to defend bus companies. They are not
charities. As businesses in the free market, they are obliged
to trade commercially. No one should be surprised therefore when
they take decisions which are commercially sound but not always
popular. The legislation is clear: the public purse may fill gaps
left by commercial provision.
The Committee may wish to consider how much more
the Hackney Carriage and Private Hire sector might contribute
towards the public transport network. This can be a strong complement
to the bus network and several local authorities - Devon included
- have made use of what the sector has to offer by way of spare
capacity at marginal cost.
I trust these comments are useful and thank you once
more for the opportunity to contact you.
April 2011
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