More nighttime buses and a Sunday service? MP's delight at what new bill could mean for Shrewsbury
New powers that could pave the way for extended evening and Sunday bus services in Shrewsbury would be a "game changer", an MP has said.
Speaking during a debate on the Government's Bus Services (No.2) Bill, Julia Buckley MP said a lack of evening bus services in the county town is "holding back" its nighttime economy.
She added that Shrewsbury has lost more than two-thirds of its bus routes in the past 10 years and has been without a Sunday bus service for more than a decade.
The Labour MP for Shrewsbury has welcomed the new Bus Service Bill that intends to remove the ban on local authority-owned bus companies ownership, and expand local authority powers to franchise local bus services.
This would allow local authorities to take greater control over routes, fares, and service frequency through contracts with operators. The model, long used in London and recently introduced in Manchester’s Bee Network, would no longer require some central government permissions that are currently required to initiate a franchising scheme.
"We have lost over two thirds of our bus routes in the past 10 years. We are one of the largest towns in the UK, with over 65,000 residents, yet we have not seen a Sunday bus for over a decade," said Mrs Buckley.
"We also have very few evening bus services, which is holding back our nighttime economy, despite being a glorious tourist destination.
"The new bus powers for franchising will be a game changer for local councils such as ours in Shropshire. They will give us the opportunity to introduce new bus routes if they are considered to be socially necessary, such as that all-important Sunday service or some additional stops to widen access to our current hospital bus route and the new health clinic facilities coming down the track.
"It is our belief that these social routes could eventually build up their passenger numbers and ultimately become economically viable in their own right."
The Labour MP also referred to a section of the bill that seeks to bring forward requirements for transport authorities to deliver a minimum level of off-peak and nighttime bus services.
She said NHS staff and residents working in hospitality are currently suffering due to a lack of services after 6pm.
"That could transform access to employment for many of the residents in my constituency," Mrs Buckley continued.
"We have only a handful of bus services after 6pm and only one single bus at 8pm, yet we are the county town and host to the county’s health, governance, economic and education services, as well as being a major employer for a county of 350,000 residents. Shift workers, NHS staff and those working in hospitality - as well as those of us who enjoy hospitality - need those buses to run beyond 8pm.
"The Shropshire bus services users group has consistently campaigned on the need for evening and the all-important Sunday bus services. Until now, no commercial company would take the risk, but within the last year, bus routes added by my local authority using Government bus service improvement plan money have led to increased passenger numbers and become embedded in our network.
"To overcome the reticence of private companies to widen their routes at economic risk, the local authority is ready to do that, where legislation allows and where passenger data indicates that all-important demand and socially necessary routes. The new clause would support Shropshire Council by underpinning the need to re-establish evening and Sunday bus services, giving the impetus to widen those routes.
"My beautiful town of Shrewsbury lost its Sunday service a decade ago under the last Government, and it is in our hands to ensure that we reinstate it under this Labour Government."
