Agenda item

The Committee received an update from the Director of Transport & Property Services on the publication of the National Bus Strategy and the current position of bus service funding.

The government’s National Bus Strategy had been published since the last meeting of the Committee. It emphasised the importance of the role of buses in the transport network, and the aims of the strategy were closely aligned with the 2017 West Yorkshire Bus Strategy. The desire to reduce fares as well as to deliver highway schemes allowing buses to travel through the network more seamlessly and to create more reliability was highlighted.

It was noted that the National Bus Strategy created a timescale around the release of government funding. The Combined Authority would have to commit to a course of action by the end of June in order for the region to continue to be able to access its share of the £3 billion bus funding budget. The Bus Services Act set out the available options of an enhanced partnership or franchising, and a decision on this would be made at the Combined Authority meeting on 24 June. The report also highlighted the upcoming October deadline to submit a Bus Service Improvement Plan, which Members would shape through a future workshop, as well as the requirement to express interest to submit a bid to the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area (ZEBRA) scheme by June.

The Combined Authority had been working closely with bus operators to develop an enhanced partnership, which would set clear targets and standards to ensure the chief aims of the strategy – to increase patronage and inclusivity, and reduce carbon emissions – were met. If these targets were not met, this would be vital evidence when moving toward a franchising process.

The existing funding arrangement supporting the bus service throughout the pandemic was expected to come to an end in August or September and be replaced by a further funding arrangement, the details of which are not yet known. An element of risk existed around this in coming months, as insufficient funding for bus services would create pressure on both the operators and the Combined Authorities.

Committee Members raised the following questions and concerns:

• The election of the region’s new mayor was hailed as a strong opportunity to address the failings of the current system and to find something that delivered for the general public.
• The significant time and financial costs of moving toward franchising were noted. It was suggested that a greater public awareness of the complex process involved be promoted by the Combined Authority. Members also noted that flexibility from the government would be helpful in allowing the region to pursue the goals that the public evidently supported, particularly in effect to dates regarding the Bus Service Improvement Plan.
• Members noted that the most recent government guidance established that the region would be able to proceed along the route of an enhanced partnership, and work to allay shorter-term funding concerns, whilst still moving toward franchising in the longer-term. However, concern was raised that this could lead to franchising falling by the wayside and no progress being made.
• The depth of strong public feeling about this issue was recognised by Members, and a great deal of feedback had been received from the public on this issue.
• Members highlighted the importance of flexibility for passengers, particularly now when flexible working hours and locations were becoming more relevant than ever before, and multi-operator and intermodal ticketing were expected to be of great benefit for both passengers and businesses.
• The LEP representative advised Members that many businesses within the region were involved in next-generation technologies that could be useful in developing a zero-carbon bus fleet, and offered to support of the LEP to connect these businesses with the Combined Authority to support a potential ZEBRA bid. 
  
  

The difficulty of creating a useful plan with so many uncertainties existing at present in terms of both future funding arrangements and patronage levels was discussed. However, it was also noted that passenger numbers had been falling on many routes for years before the pandemic, and this reimagining represented a potential opportunity to not just reclaim passengers lost to Covid but also to bring a new group of users to the bus service who had not considered it before. The completion of work on fast bus corridors - as well as the funding from Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme and the Transforming Cities Fund - left the region well-placed to pursue this goal, and Members questioned whether this could be made more evident in the report.

Members also discussed the difficulty of encouraging the public to move from private car usage onto public transport, particularly if a direct service did not exist or if bus journeys were to take significantly longer than cars over the same routes. The Leeds to Huddersfield and Roberttown to Cleckheaton routes were highlighted, and Members questioned whether business plans and key dates for meeting improvement targets would be made available moving forward. It was noted that the core bus network had been examined in 2019 as part of the Connectivity Strategy Consultation, and the next piece of work – due to take place over the next two to three months as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan – was to identify the wider network connections that needed to be made and to pick up examples such as those mentioned.