Local bus services in England

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 6 May 2025 Parliament page
Local bus services are the most used form of public transport. The Department for Transport published its national bus strategy for England, Bus Back Better , in 2021. Government strategy has sought to make buses more frequent, reliable, better coordinated and cheaper, alongside supporting post-pandemic recovery. While bus services are … Read more
16 Recommendations
13 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
2 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 6 events
14 May
2026
Correspondence
19 Jan
2026
Report published
29 Oct
2025
Report published
4 Sep
2025
Correspondence
17 Jul
2025
Oral evidence
17 Jul
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
17 Jul 2025
View on parliament.uk
Conrad Bailey · Department for Transport Jo Shanmugalingam · Department for Transport Stephen Fidler · Department for Transport
Title HC No. Published Items Response
50th Report - Local bus services in England HC 892 29 Oct 2025 29 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
2 results
Clear
8 Conclusion Deferred
50th Report - Local bus services i…
Rural bus service recovery remains challenging, requiring LTA-led improvements
We asked the Department what action it is taking to support rural areas which have seen significant cuts to bus services and poor performance, leaving would-be passengers stranded.13 The Department acknowledged that the recovery in bus usage was particularly challenging … Read more
Government Response
The government's response discusses animal vaccine availability, research, and future plans, including an action plan by late 2026, completely unrelated to the recommendation on rural bus services.
HM Treasury
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9 Conclusion Deferred
50th Report - Local bus services i…
UK bus services perform poorly, demonstrating inadequate connectivity and significant economic costs.
Bus services in the UK perform poorly compared to those in other European countries. Fewer people can reach local city centres within 30 minutes than the European average. This poor connectivity costs the UK economy more than £23 billion per … Read more
Government Response
The government's response discusses sanitary and phytosanitary agreements with the EU and strengthening resilience to animal disease, completely unrelated to the recommendation on UK bus connectivity compared to Europe.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 28 of 16 classified
Accepted 23
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 2
Total 16 recs + 13 conclusions
Correspondence 2 letters
14 May 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport relating to Local bus services in England, 29 April 2026
Parliament page
4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport relating to the oral evidence session held on 17 July, Local bus services in England, follow up, 31 July 2025
Parliament page