When I took on my role as Minister for Roads and Local Transport back in November last year it became very apparent that bus policy was going to be front and centre of my portfolio.
Indeed, on my first day in the job I found myself at a bus depot in Crawley, meeting with the local operator Metrobus and Graham Vidler, CEO of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, to discuss such things as driver recruitment, bus funding, bus priority measures, and zero-emission buses. That was certainly a taster of things to come.
I joined at a great time for buses, inheriting an ambitious and well-received government bus strategy, Bus Back Better, now backed with over £2 billion to support local Bus Service Improvement Plans. That’s on top of all the other funding we have allocated to buses including our support for the rollout of zero emission buses as well as the ever popular £2 bus fare cap - part of our Help for Households campaign – helping people deal with the cost of travel and boosting bus patronage.
There is some great work happening across the country to improve bus services. My favourite bus route, the scenic AD122 between Hexham and Haltwhistle in my Northumbrian constituency, helps people to access the UNESCO world heritage site of Hadrian’s Wall. It now operates all-year round, not only serving locals, but allowing tourists to hop on and off as they walk along the route of the Wall. A service operated by Go North-East, working in partnership with the local authority and supported with local funding.
It is work such as this that we want to showcase through the Bus Centre of Excellence. We funded the CIHT to setup and operate the BCoE to share that good practice more widely, to help get the best value from national and local investment in buses. In addition, the BCoE has a key role in supporting the sector with training and events to boost the skills and capabilities of a new Generation Bus. All of this helps us to meet our objective to provide better bus services for people across the country.
I’m keen for you all to contribute to that objective and work with the Department and the BCoE to build on the great work so far.