Padam Mobility
With Funding in Crisis, Can We Really Improve Services?
This article first appeared in the Bus-News magazine, Issue 1 2022.
It’s a critical time for bus service funding. Just as Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) and Enhanced Partnerships change the way everyone works, the funding which has supported operators through the pandemic is set to taper off.
Meanwhile, new funding for BSIPs is estimated to cover only a quarter of proposals submitted to the Department for Transport. Operators and authorities are understandably worried about meeting the aspirations set for the bus industry.
Climate experts agree that switching people out of cars and on to buses is imperative to save the planet from catastrophe. Meanwhile, the cost-of-living crisis means many are wondering whether they can reduce their reliance on cars and the expensive fuel they consume.
With high stakes and small budgets, it’s more important than ever to consider efficiencies. However, the question should really be “can we afford not to improve services?”
Enhanced Partnerships aim to improve the bus network and serve more people in a useful way. It’s our experience that when the network is truly useful, we see radically greater numbers of passengers, who also report that they have reduced their car ownership (often people giving up the expensive second vehicle). However, to achieve this, for the bus network to be perceived as ‘useful’, it requires service levels that equate to a bus at least every 30 minutes within a short walk of the journey’s origin. That means, in most cases, within a short walk of people’s homes. It also means a service that enables people who travel beyond core commuter times – for instance, those with late and early shifts – to get to work and home again. It means a service that can be relied on to get to appointments, for socialising and for onward travel.
