Deregulated bus transport

That this House is concerned with the adequacy of deregulated bus services in England outside London; notes the near unanimous consensus that the current system is not delivering for passengers and the multitude of reports finding as such; further notes that in England alone, average fares have increased 403 percent since deregulation, ridership has fallen almost 40 percent, and some 3,000 routes have been cut; acknowledges the many complaints from passengers concerning poor reliability and fragmented service; further acknowledges the harms caused by the breakdown of bus services, including on access to work, healthcare, and community; recognises that buses provide an essential service and account for some 4 billion journeys per year; further recognises that attractive and convenient local bus services are important to meeting the Government’s climate goals; believes that structural changes are necessary for improving local bus services; and calls on the Government to ease the process for local authorities to franchise bus services, repeal the ban on municipal bus services, support local authorities making use of these options, and adopt a minimum service frequencies standard that all people can rely on.