Government does not understand why elderly and disabled people are using buses far less than they used to. In a report on local bus services in England, which have not been good enough for many years, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is calling for a clearly communicated vision for bus services, including what outcomes it wants to achieve and by when.
The report welcomes DfT’s ambitions on better connectivity, accessibility, reliability, speed and safety on the network – but what will be achieved and when is still too vague.
Across England (outside London), there have been 9% fewer bus journeys over the past four years, and a 15% fall in the total length of services overall since 2019-20. Given 2021’s national bus strategy is no longer government policy but has not yet been updated or replaced by the current government, the PAC is calling for an articulation of what outcomes DfT wants to achieve and when.
The number of concessionary bus journeys made by elderly and disabled people is still 29% lower than in 2019-20, though fare paying passenger journeys are nearly at pre-COVID levels.
Bus pass take-up has also fallen, despite an ageing population and more people being eligible. Government is not able to either adequately explain why this is, or to provide reassurance that reduced bus usage by elderly and disabled people is a genuine choice, rather than exclusion due to accessibility issues.
The PAC’s inquiry received evidence of the persistent barriers to bus use faced by disabled people, including lack of accessible travel information, ticketing systems and bus doors; while further evidence explained how cuts to bus services have contributed to older people losing their independence.
The report recommends that government set out its plans to address the specific barriers preventing elderly and disabled passengers from getting back on buses, and to work with local transport authorities to promote the uptake of concessionary passes.
The PAC is concerned about the slow pace of reform to bus sector funding to date. Between 2019-20 to 2024-25 this amounted to £5.9bn, in mostly short-term funding, which hindered investment, and was fragmented across 13 different grant schemes.
The Department for Transport (DfT) told the PAC’s inquiry that it had been overtaken by events and had wanted to avoid any sudden changes in funding that would have adverse impacts on services. DfT, which has been trying to reform its main bus grant for 12 years, expects to take another two to three years to reform bus funding.
The PAC is pushing government for plans on how to reflect the additional challenges in funding for rural areas; and given the financial pressures on local authorities, how it will ensure funding for buses, is spent on buses.
Much more could be done to support local authorities’ ability to deliver bus service improvements, with 46% of councils rating their capacity as poor in 2023. Funding has been provided for at least one officer for buses in each local transport authority, but the report finds this is clearly insufficient.
The report further highlights the fact that bus passenger experience is variable across the country in part due to patchy implementation of technology. The Transport Committee recently found that fewer than one in six bus users has live updates at their bus stop.
The PAC is seeking answers from government on how it will seize opportunities to use technology to improve bus services for everyone, while noting care must be taken to prevent digital exclusion.
Chair comment
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said:
“We are now twelve years into what feels like a softly-softly approach from government to reforming its overall bus funding landscape. There is much to welcome in government’s ambitions for improved bus services, but vague aspirations do not amount to a clear strategy.
“Only a clear vision from the centre - and, for councils, guidance on differing models of running services and proper accountability - can arrest further decline across the country.
"This Committee will also continue to push Government for plans on how to reflect the additional challenges in funding for rural areas. Without following our recommendations, government risks simply waiting in vain, just as too many passengers do, for reliable, accessible and safe buses to arrive.
“The use of bus services by elderly and disabled people has not seen the same post-COVID rebound that we’ve seen amongst fee-paying passengers – and government has not done the work to understand why this is.
"What we can continue to be certain of are the multiple obstacles still in the way of disabled people attempting to access bus services, and varying performance around the country making services less reliable for elderly people who might otherwise depend on them.”