What a year it's been!
Hello Supporter
It has been an exciting year for transport. Sweeping reforms to the way bus and rail services are run have begun in earnest; further devolution of money and decision making to regional and local authorities is underway; a new Integrated National Transport Strategy is on the horizon; and pricing signals which favour private transport over public transport have received welcome attention.
Throughout it all, we've campaigned and fought for the social, economic and environmental importance of sustainable transport to be recognised by decision makers and for public transport to receive the political and financial support it needs and deserves.
Here are just some highlights of the last 12 months.
Buses
With the Government's 'bus revolution' in full swing, the Bus Services Bill became law, giving all local authorities the power to choose how best to deliver bus services in their area. Crucially, the Government has also overhauled the way buses are funded. Multi-year funding will now allow local authorities to properly plan how best to support local bus services, and crucially it will now be based on local needs, rather than which local authority makes the best bid.
We were very happy when the Government acknowledged the plight of lifeline bus services, many of which were under threat, protecting them through the new Bus Services Act, but we think the Government needs to go further. In our written and oral evidence to the Transport Select Committee inquiry into improving buses, we called for a minimum service level to ensure that every community has a usable bus service. When the Committee published its final report, we were thrilled to see this ask included, along with our call for a national standard for bus stops.
We were so glad to have been able to get these important asks in front of the people who shape our transport system and we will continue to keep up the pressure on the Government to take forward these recommendations. Keep your eyes peeled in the new year for the next stage of our bus stop campaign, Bus Stop Stories.
Rail
The Government has forged ahead with reforming the railways - giving us a sneak peak of the new Great British Railways branding earlier this month - and we're continuing to play an active part in the development of the Railways Bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament. The Bill represents a significant opportunity to create a more accountable, affordable, accessible and better-integrated rail network. To do this however, it must include clearer duties, stronger safeguards and a firmer long-term funding framework. As part of this, we’d like to see a target to increase passenger numbers, a plan to grow the network to connect more people to the railways, and a clear timetable for fares and ticketing reforms to make trains more affordable for more people.
We think it’s vital that passengers’ voices are heard in the rail reform process, so we've launched a public survey to find out what issues you think the rail reform process should tackle. If you haven't already completed our survey, please take ten minutes to tell us what your top priorities are for Great British Railways.
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