Sustrans and the Bevan Foundation, joint submission to the Commission on Devolution in Wales
Overview
An integrated public transport policy in Wales has the potential to make public transport more accessible and affordable, and make more sustainable transport options the preferred mode of travel for more journeys within Wales.
Our declining bus services, especially in rural areas, have social implications for Wales – with many young people being forced to move out of towns and villages to be able to access employment, further education or leisure facilities.
As well as shifting population, across Wales many people without cars are likely to be left marooned, and with reducing local services due to lack of local demand.
Bus travel is particularly good at dealing with inequality, providing transport for the elderly, lower earners, young people and the disabled. However, this relies on a comprehensive and affordable bus service that can be relied on.
Total bus passenger journeys in Wales fell from 125 million in 2008-09 to 117 million in 2009-10 and 113 million in 2010-11.
The current system
The 1985 Transport Act provided for deregulation of bus services, which has seem buses run largely by the private sector – with some notable exceptions, for example Cardiff Bus.
The 2006 Transport Act made it easier to introduce Quality Contracts in England and Wales, which allows for some limited re-regulation of buses. These powers fall to Local Authorities in Wales to exercise, and rely on the support of commercial operators to be bound by the terms of the Contract.
In 2012, the Welsh Government reformed the Bus Services Operating Grant, to simplify the system and alter how subsidised are distributed. The principal aim of the scheme is to benefit passengers. It does this by helping operators to keep their fares down and enabling operators to run services that might not otherwise be commercially viable thus contributing to the maintenance of the overall bus network However, the overall value of the grant has been cut by 25%. Evidence from England shows this risks a reduction in services.
The current system of bus provision leads to commercial operators competing against each other on profit-making routes, while non-profitable routes are cut. Subsidised services cannot compete against commercial services, however limited the commercial service.
The current arrangements lead to large commercial operators being able to cherry-pick the most profitable routes, with no timetable co-ordination. Councils are left to heavily subsidise remaining services, e.g. evenings and Sundays.
The current arrangement also sees Welsh Government provide funds to subsidise services, but has no influence over on which services they spent or how current services are regulated.
Deregulated services are focussed on the most profitable times of day (namely 7am-5.30pm Monday to Friday), but fail to supply the total capacity required.
The Welsh Government does not currently hold powers to re-regulate bus services in Wales.
The solution
Having the powers to introducing bus regulation would be crucial for the Welsh Assembly in providing a bus network in Wales that would lead to improved services that better served passengers.
Regulation of services run by private operators has worked in London, where between 1993 and 2007 bus use has increased by 57%, whereas across the majority of the UK bus use has been in decline, particularly in rural areas.
New powers over bus regulation would allow the Welsh Government to deliver a bus service that could cater to the differing needs across Wales: urban centres, rural villages and valleys communities – alongside longer national bus routes.
Re-regulation would allow the Welsh Government to deliver a competitive tendering model, which would end competition on profitable routes, instead seeing private companies bidding for the rights to run a package of routes for a certain period of time, which could be profitable overall, reducing the risk of more rural loss-making routes, which can be equally valuable, being cut.
Powers to regulate the bus services could also allow the Welsh Government, in combination with the four regional transport consortia, to develop more demand-sensitive public transport options for rural areas where regular timetabled routes are inefficient.
While these powers remain at either UK national level in Westminster or local authority level, the Welsh Government is unable to assert appropriate levels of control over bus services to deliver a transport system which can help tackle issues of social inequality and poverty within Wales, including, but not limited to, the effects of transport poverty.
Additionally, without these powers the Welsh Government, Regional Transport Consortia in Wales and Local Authorities in Wales will continue to use public money to provide ineffective subsidy.
In the view of Sustrans and the Bevan Foundation, the Welsh Government should gain powers to decide bus subsidy/contract payment levels; decide bus routes and frequency for both commercially and publicly-run routes; and have devolved bus user groups.
Sustrans Cymru
123 Bute Street, Cardiff, CF5 1NS; 029 2065 0602
Bevan Foundation
Bevan Foundation, 145a High Street, Merthyr Tydfil,CF47 8DP; 0845 180 0441;