Skip to main content

New Buses Bill gives councils more power

Reforms are set to make bus travel in the UK more passenger-friendly and give councils more freedom to improve services. Roads Minister Andrew Jones said reforms will help deliver better journeys across the country, as he delivered a keynote speech at the UK Bus Summit. Under the changes in the Buses Bill, councils will be given the choice to franchise services and enter into new partnerships with providers. All companies will have to share information about routes, fares and timetables, paving the
February 16, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Reforms are set to make bus travel in the UK more passenger-friendly and give councils more freedom to improve services.

Roads Minister Andrew Jones said reforms will help deliver better journeys across the country, as he delivered a keynote speech at the UK Bus Summit.

Under the changes in the Buses Bill, councils will be given the choice to franchise services and enter into new partnerships with providers.

All companies will have to share information about routes, fares and timetables, paving the way for programmers to develop new apps passengers can use to plan their journeys.

Local authorities will be given new powers to enter into stronger partnerships with bus companies and agree minimum standards for services, improving reliability and punctuality.

The new partnerships will also be given the power to set standards for local buses and introduce standard ticketing rules over wider areas, paving the way for Oyster-style schemes.

The Buses Bill is due to go before Parliament later this year.

Related Content

  • South Africa's first multi-lane free-flow tolling top of the line
    February 3, 2012
    Kapsch's Kjell Arnesson talks about the first multi-lane free-flow tolling project in South Africa. In South Africa, installation is ongoing as part of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) of the country's first Multi-Lane Free-Flow (MLFF) tolling system.
  • Microgrids & the new power generation
    August 31, 2021
    Public transportation agencies are turning to microgrids to provide critical resilience in the event of local and regional power interruptions. Gordon Feller looks at projects in Maryland, New Jersey and Massachusetts
  • Nottingham Ring Road improvement gets final approval
    July 5, 2013
    Work can now start on a package of measures to tackle congestion on Nottingham’s Ring Road and improve public transport in the city after receiving final approval from UK Local Transport Minister Norman Baker. The scheme was one of those given funding approval in late 2011 as part of the Spending Review process and comprises: upgrading of key junctions and selective widening; reconstruction of areas of the carriageway most in need of repair; improved facilities to help change between bus services on the mai
  • HERMES Study provides guidance for forward ITS thinking in Finland
    August 25, 2016
    Having authored HERMES, a major study for the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communication, Josef Czako talks to ITS International about his findings and lessons for other authorities. When CEOs of major automakers are predicting more change in the next five years than in the past 50, what is the role of national authorities considering the benefits of innovations in ITS?