September 30 2019
Responding to the announcement of the plans to create a national bus strategy, Confederation of Passenger Transport UK Chief Executive Graham Vidler said:
“This is excellent news for bus passengers. Buses account for 60% of all public transport journeys and are vital in getting people to work, school or college or connecting with family and friends. Bus passengers contribute tens of billions of pounds to the economy each year but the lack of a national strategy has to date restricted innovation and resulted in piecemeal, often uncoordinated, investment.
“Tackling congestion and providing passengers with more reliable journey times must form the central pillar of the strategy and the creation of superbus networks is an important first step. Local authorities and operators working together in partnerships have been shown to deliver real improvements in passenger numbers and with one in four non bus users prepared to give bus a go there is significant potential for growth if we can provide them with more reliable journeys.
“We now need to build on these warm words and ensure this opportunity is not squandered. The industry looks forward to working with the Government on turning this announcement into reality as soon as possible.”