Taking back control of local buses

Labour’s Neil Duncan-Jordan has announced that under a Labour government Poole would be able to take back control of local bus services.

Labour’s plan could create and save up to 1,300 vital bus routes nationwide and allow 250 million more passenger journeys per year compared to today’s failed system. It will also bring an end to the postcode lottery of bus services by providing safeguards over local networks across the country.

Since buses were deregulated in 1985, bus services in England’s regions outside London have collapsed, with:

• 1.5 billion fewer annual bus journeys in 2019 than in 1985

• Almost 300 million fewer miles driven by buses per year since 2010

• Thousands of bus services cut since 2010

Neil said: "Labour’s plans will ensure better value for money for the taxpayer, deliver a better service for passengers and give local authorities a choice over the bus system that works best for them. It will require no additional central government spending."

Labour will:

• Allow every community to take back control of their buses by removing barriers that currently limit bus franchising powers only to metro mayors.

• Step in to safeguard local bus networks: by providing more accountability over bus operators and ensuring standards are raised wherever you live across the country.

• Support public ownership by removing the Conservatives’ ideological ban on publicly owned bus companies and building on the success of award-winning public bus services still in operation.