Bill will give more flexibility when it comes to buses

I REGULARLY receive emails from people in Gloucester who are being let down by our unreliable bus service. Arriving late or not at all, too often residents are being left to wonder whether they'll get to work on time, miss an urgent appointment or whether the next bus will be too full to even pick them up. That’s why I’m backing the government's plans to deliver better buses across Gloucestershire.

- Alex McIntyre MP

Bus services in the regions outside London have collapsed. Over the last decade or more, thousands of bus services have been cut, and almost 300 million fewer miles driven in England by buses each year. Across Gloucestershire alone, bus miles have declined by almost 25% since 2010.

The Buses Bill, soon to be introduced to Parliament, will expand the power to ‘franchise’ bus services, as seen successfully in Greater London and Greater Manchester, to all local authorities. The Bill will revolutionise the bus network in the largest overhaul to local transport powers in 40 years.