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
17 Conclusion Not Addressed
50th Report - Local bus services i…
Bus franchising requires significant time and cost, considerably exceeding Departmental estimates.
The Department of Transport is encouraging more local transport authorities to consider franchising their bus services. Franchising, whereby local transport authorities take on more responsibility for bus services and award contracts to private operators, gives local transport authorities more control … Read more
Government Response
This item is a conclusion but the response addresses the recommendation 4, as the conclusion is linked to the recommendation. The Department is committed to supporting local transport authorities to deliver better bus services and share learnings, including through the Bus Centre of Excellence, shared guidance and advice, a handbook and toolkit, active support and funding to local transport authorities exploring franchising, and updated guidance with actionable steps for Enhanced Partnerships, including an EP Manual.
HM Treasury
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19 Conclusion Not Addressed
50th Report - Local bus services i…
Local transport authorities lack capacity and capability for bus franchising models.
We asked the Department whether local transport authorities had sufficient information to know what the right delivery model is for their local area.42 The Department said its role is to help local authorities understand the options and acknowledged that many … Read more
Government Response
This item is a conclusion but the response addresses the recommendation 4, as the conclusion is linked to the recommendation. The Department is committed to supporting local transport authorities to deliver better bus services and share learnings, including through the Bus Centre of Excellence, shared guidance and advice, a handbook and toolkit, active support and funding to local transport authorities exploring franchising, and updated guidance with actionable steps for Enhanced Partnerships, including an EP Manual.
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