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

  • MaaS: 130,000 chances for a bad user experience
    May 4, 2020
    Johan Herrlin, CEO of transit data specialist Ito World, puts himself in the hotseat with ITS International to talk about, among other things, why a beautifully designed MaaS app with a perfect subscription model is still a failure if you get your customers lost along the way
  • Mature solutions for emerging economies
    June 8, 2015
    Siemens’ Marcus Welz talks to David Crawford about suitable ITS solutions for emerging economies. Be bold in vision - and output - and user-oriented in practice,” Marcus Welz advises emerging economies planning ITS investments. Says the Siemens Group senior vice president and global sales director for ITS: “Their road users need better, more reliable and safer trips – but without costs increasing too much. The good news is that many countries are already tackling the big issues of traffic and the environmen
  • Digital Transformation is the way to comprehensive transportation 
    March 31, 2021
    Transportation worldwide needs to keep up with a variety of challenges: Frederic Giron of Forrester Consulting explains how digital technologies will be the key to making the necessary changes...
  • Pan-European travel information is a reality – at a price
    November 26, 2013
    Pan-European, multi-modal traffic and travel information is now available, for drivers willing to pay for it. Jon Masters reports. Those able to afford a new car with all the latest options including internet connectivity can now look forward to getting detailed up-to-the-minute traffic information. They can also access multi-modal travel data, such as train times, plus weather forecasts and parking availability. Take the connected car to any Western European country and the system still works with live