How do we Bus Back Quicker?

In the first of a series of articles from AtkinsRéalis in advance of the Quality Bus Conference 2025, Dave Pearson, a Managing Consultant in their Movement and Place practice, shares his thoughts on recent announcements reviewing progress of the “Bus Back Better” strategy

There has been no shortage of reading material this Summer for those of us involved with bus policy and delivery. The National Audit Office and, most recently, the House of Commons Transport Committee have reported the findings of their respective investigations into the bus industry. 

Both reports suggest that the ambitions outlined in the 2021 National Bus Strategy, “Bus Back Better”, have not been effectively implemented and that a long-term funding plan would be necessary to achieve this. In his evidence to the Commons Committee, the Minister was clear he wanted to “give local leaders the power to shape their services”. 

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The team from AtkinsRealis will be taking part in Quality Bus 2025, Portsmouth, on 23 and 24 September. Final remaining tickets available here...

These powers will be granted when the Bus Services (No 2) Bill receives royal assent later in the year. Local leaders need funding to implement their new-found powers, and there remains some uncertainty in this regard. Earlier in the Summer, we were reassured that the Government was setting funds aside for bus services. However, the Government stopped short of guaranteeing the five-year funding profile recommended by the NAO and the Transport Committee. The Chancellor’s financial challenges are well-reported, and we can reasonably assume that Government funding will fall short of what is needed to deliver everything in the Bus Strategy everywhere. 

Full-fat franchises not for everyone...

For many Local Transport Authorities, underwriting the revenue costs of an optimum bus service delivered by a zero-carbon bus fleet and secured under a “full-fat” franchise, will stretch their capabilities and financial resources. Bus services will require a mix of public and private finance for the foreseeable future, regardless of the governance model adopted. 

The provisions of the impending Act, combined with current Government guidance, will open the door to a range of franchising and partnership options, as the Government is keen to support pilot schemes to implement some of these options. Under these arrangements, private sector investment is likely to be needed to finance depot infrastructure, new buses and ticketing systems. Traditionally, bus operators would provide this, and the impending structural changes may enable new financing models to emerge, especially around investment in zero-carbon technologies. In the meantime, private sector investment will be managed in the context of the current deregulated model overseen by Enhanced Partnerships.

One of the most striking findings of the survey evidence presented to the Transport Committee was that over half of respondents felt their bus service had worsened, with low recognition of the improvements funded under Bus Service Improvement Plans. In fairness, the consequences of the pandemic for travel patterns and service provision will have contributed to worsening perception. Whilst politicians focus on governance and funding, many passengers perception of buses are based on their daily experience of using them. There is a risk that the current focus on structural issues is distracting many authorities from seizing opportunities to fix the issues affecting their current services.

Effective EPs

Most areas have an Enhanced Partnership, which could improve the customer experience now, without waiting for structural change. In our experience of supporting LTAs, AtkinsRéalis colleagues have observed a variability in the effectiveness of EPs. We won’t name and shame the poor ones, nor laud the effective ones. We can, however, suggest some practical steps that an Enhanced Partnership could take to help increase passenger satisfaction. 

• Keep focussed on performance – measure report and act on how punctual, reliable and consistently each service is being delivered. Openness and transparency are essential here; bus performance is a collective responsibility between the bus operator and the manager of the road on which it travels.

• Facilitate a consistent customer service - bus operators and LTAs can make collective decisions to remove the variability between operators and types of service. This may involve diverging from company/authority wide norms.

• Understand who uses buses and why – the education, health and retail sectors generate a lot of bus travel - find ways of involving them in the EP along with young people and bus passenger representatives

• Be collegiate – the EP Board is a place to make collective decisions, not just report on decisions made elsewhere.

• Focus improvements on where they will have the most impact – prioritise routes and areas based on passenger usage and/or performance issues. 

In our next article, we will share our approach to developing Route Development Plans that take a holistic view of bus performance, infrastructure quality, passenger demand and expectations to deliver a suite of tangible and impactful interventions aimed at growing passenger use. 

The challenge for bus practitioners over the coming years will be to achieve tangible improvements in the short term whilst enabling the most significant structural change the bus industry has seen in decades. I am sure this challenge will be relevant to delegates attending the forthcoming Quality Bus Conference, where we will learn from the achievements of its host city, Portsmouth.