Roads Minister promotes extension to bus scheme to ease congestion on Cornish roads
The country’s Roads and Local Transport Minister has told bus companies in Cornwall they have to provide a reliable service
The Roads and Local Transport Minister has promoted the extension of bus schemes to ease congestion on the roads.
Richard Holden MP has told bus companies in Cornwall they have to provide a reliable service if Government schemes to get more people travelling on buses across the Duchy are to prove successful.
Mr Holden visited Newquay Bus Station to talk about the Get Around for £2 and Take The Bus campaigns which aim to encourage residents and tourists to ditch the car and hop on a bus.
"Pressure on the road network... during the summer"
Mr Holden said: “I was down six months ago to see the initial start of some of the schemes in Cornwall – Cornwall’s been a bit of an exemplar really in terms of that close working relationship between the council and the bus companies.
“We’ve seen that since Covid there’s been a real drop-off in bus ridership and in Cornwall the way they’ve co-ordinated with the school buses and the way they’ve got a really close working relationship has protected routes right across the area. Also, I think there is a broader understanding in Cornwall that there is a lot of pressure on the road network particularly during the summer months.
“Anything that can be done to ease that – and make things better for local people and also boosts tourism which is obviously a big mainstay of the economy – is to be encouraged. There seems to be a real desire for partnership here, which I hope is a bit of a model for the rest of the country."
Cornwall Council has worked with local bus operators to develop its Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIP). In August 2022, the council was awarded funding of up to £13.3m to deliver a package of schemes within its BSIP over the next three years alongside the bus companies who come together under the Transport for Cornwall banner, including Cornwall by Kernow, Go Cornwall Bus, Stagecoach, Hopley’s, OTS and Travel Cornwall.
Richard Holden MP continued: "We’ve put a lot of money into the bus fare scheme and extra money for the council to look at supporting individual services. There was a real issue, particularly during the pandemic and just afterwards, with people who had been bus drivers leaving and going and doing other jobs. That has now largely been transformed but we are still working on different measures to make sure we don’t see those driver shortages return.
“Actually, alongside affordability, the biggest challenge for people – and particularly for those who already have free bus passes – is overwhelmingly reliability. If you can’t rely on the service, it doesn’t matter how much it costs.
“We’re hoping that the extra BSIP Plus cash we’ve put in, which is guaranteed for this year and next year, on top of the £13m we gave them for the initial BSIP programme in Cornwall and also on top of the £23m we gave Cornwall for the fares pilot as well to reduce bus fares will show we are backing Cornwall.
“We’ve had that discussion – literally on the bus here from the airport. When people saw reliability wasn’t there or buses just weren’t turning up, that means they totally lose confidence in the service. Particularly for the elderly and the disabled, that was a real issue. If they can’t rely on it they’ve got to find another way of getting around otherwise they’re stuck at home.
“That’s been the other side of the coin for me. I’ve said I want to back the bus networks, we want to put cash in, we want that £2 fare to encourage people back on the network, but on the other side, you have to provide a reliable service, whether it’s getting to work, going to college or having a day out to see friends and family.”