Tag: bus travel

Bishop of Lincoln asks about bus travel and coastal transport networks

The Bishop of Lincoln received the following written answers on 12th September 2025:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to implement the recommendation made in the report by the Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities (Session 2017–19, HL Paper 320), published in April 2019, and in the follow-up letter to that report from the Chair of the Liaison Committee, published in March 2021, that they conduct a detailed review of the coastal transport network.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about subsidisation of franchised bus services

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 20th May 2025:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to introduce cross-subsidy between rural and urban areas for franchised bus services where routes exist that are not themselves profitable.

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Votes: Bus Services (No. 2) Bill

On 2nd April 2025, the House of Lords debated the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill. Votes were held on amendments to the bill, in which a Bishop took part:

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Bishop of St Albans asks about funding of bus services

The Bishop of St Albans asked a question on integration of bus services between counties and the provision of free bus passes for school children following a government statement on bus funding on 19th November 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in a diocese such as mine, which covers Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, where many people look outside the county for services—for example, many people in Bedfordshire go to hospitals in and work in Milton Keynes, in another county—lack of integration of the bus services is causing quite a lot of problems. How is the new system going to lead to more and better integration? Secondly, what consideration has been given to finding, I hope, free bus passes for school children, since our towns are absolutely gridlocked at rush hour, at a time when we need children to get on the buses, get exercise and learn independence rather than being driven one by one in cars causing huge jams?

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Bishop of Manchester asks about plans for bus franchising

The Bishop of Manchester asked a question on plans for franchising local bus and railway services on 12th September 2024, following a government statement on plans for bus franchising:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester: My Lords, I declare an interest: I got the bus on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and today, and shall be getting it tomorrow. As I live in Greater Manchester, I have been a real beneficiary of what the previous Government allowed for franchising in my city and its surrounds. The buses have become more reliable: I can now go to a bus stop and expect a bus to turn up within 10 minutes, not 40 minutes, which I sometimes had to wait for before.

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Bishop of St Albans asks about bus services in rural areas

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 5th June 2023:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what alternative provisions they are making for individuals who live in areas affected by closures of rural bus routes.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 15 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether DRT can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.

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Bishop of St Albans asks Government about bus companies and zero emissions

St Albans 2On 24th October 2019 Baroness Randerson asked the Government “what plans they have to encourage more people to travel by bus”. The Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith asked a supplementary question about public transport and air pollution:

Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, in welcoming the strategy, I am aware that we have seen numerous stories this week about levels of pollution, particularly along school runs, so we should do everything we can to get children on to buses where appropriate. However, many buses are still very poor in terms of the pollution they create, which might take some years to go through. Is there any way in which the Government can help bus companies move more rapidly to zero emissions?

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