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

  • Sampo Hietanen on MaaS: “We needed better dreams”
    March 6, 2023
    Sampo Hietanen, founder of MaaS Global, is one of the authors of the Mobility as a Service concept: the dream is still real, but MaaS needs to evolve, he insists
  • UK city to introduce thermal imaging traffic management
    March 24, 2016
    City of York Council is to introduce thermal imaging technology on key cycle routes in York to help reduce the time spent at traffic signals, improve journey reliability and cycle safety. The city is set to become one of the first councils in the country to start using the technology which will accurately detect cyclists at signals by their ‘heat signature’, allowing the signals to react accordingly and be adjusted to give more ‘green time’ for cyclists. The thermal technology was first introduced by
  • Confidex to supply smart ticketing for Glasgow subway
    January 28, 2013
    Finland-headquartered contactless fare media supplier Confidex is to supply Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) with contactless ITSO (the UK technical standard for interoperable smart ticketing) smart tickets to replace the magnetic stripe tickets currently in use across the Glasgow underground system. The tickets will be encoded and issued from vending machines, parking machines and ticket offices. SPT assistant chief executive Eric Stewart says: “A key part of SPT’s subway modernisation work is
  • Aimsun makes Paris match
    March 11, 2021
    How do digital twins allow city planners to test out new road layouts virtually?