The Government is not aware of any metro mayors who have implemented a bus franchising scheme and there is no central record of this information. Some Mayoral Combined Authorities may be in the process of preparing a bus franchising scheme, but the Bus Services Act does not require any intervention or approval by central Government as part of this process. Information on this topic could best be obtained by contacting Mayoral Combined Authorities.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4584", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Sugg"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Sugg"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-29T14:32:53.517Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Bus Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the new metro mayors have made use of the bus franchising powers granted to them by the Bus Services Act 2017.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Kennedy of Southwark"} ], "uin" : "HL11534"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/923132", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/923132/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The latest Quarterly Bus Statistics show that were 4.38 billion passenger journeys on local bus services in England in the year ending March 2018, a 1.4% decrease when compared with a year earlier. This was largely driven by a 2.2% decrease in journeys in England outside London to 2.15 billion. In London journeys fell by 0.6% to 2.23 billion in the year ending March 2018.<\/p>
<\/p>
It is important to consider the fall in bus journeys in the context of a broader decline in trips. Data from the 2016 National Travel Survey (NTS) shows that in England trips per person excluding short walks have fallen 13% since 2002.<\/p>
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There are a number of factors that may explain the fall in bus patronage on local bus services specifically. These include:<\/p>
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The Department for Transport\u2019s WebTAG guidance recommends assuming that a 1% increase in bus fares will reduce trips by 0.3%. In the longer term there will be greater reductions in passenger trips. After 5 years, a 1% increase in bus fares will reduce the number of trips by 0.6% and after 10 years or longer a 1% increase in bus fares will reduce the number of trips by 0.7%.<\/p>
<\/p>
However, it is important to note that these figures are based on past trends and there is significant uncertainty around them.<\/p>
<\/p>
There have been important changes to the UK bus market in the last 10 years. The introduction of free travel for elderly and disabled people in 2008 means that the total number of trips is likely to be less responsive to a fare increase than it has been in the past. Furthermore, the Bus Services Act 2017 presents local authorities with new powers to bring about change, and unlock the potential for the bus industry to achieve more for passengers than it has in the past. Additionally, measures requiring bus operators to open up data about fares and tickets, included in the Bus Services Act 2017, will make it easier for passengers to search for best value tickets and will ensure they have a better understanding of the transport options available to them.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4584", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Sugg"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Sugg"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-06-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-06-27T12:26:29.657Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-06-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Bus Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of changes to bus fares on passenger behaviour.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Kennedy of Southwark"} ], "uin" : "HL8597"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/923134", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/923134/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The Department for Transport\u2019s main source of data on bus passenger journeys is the annual Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operator survey. This is a sample survey of roughly 600 operators of local bus services. The data provided from the PSV survey covers around 90 per cent of the published total passenger journey figure. Comparison with other data sources such as the National Travel Survey suggests the estimates produced from the annual PSV survey provide a robust measure of bus passenger journeys.<\/p>
<\/p>
To provide up to date figures the Department also runs a Quarterly Panel Survey. This is a quarterly survey of the 18 largest non-metropolitan bus operators, Passenger Transport Executives (for the metropolitan areas) and Transport for London which provides quarterly estimates of passenger journeys.<\/p>
<\/p>
As part of the Bus Services Act (2017), the Department for Transport is developing regulations to require bus operators and local transport authorities to provide data, in open formats, about local bus services including routes & timetable data, fares & ticket data and real time information. We are working closely with industry to develop the regulations and it is intended the requirements will be phased in over the next few years.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4584", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Sugg"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Sugg"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-06-27", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-06-27T12:28:42.153Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-06-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Bus Services"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the data they collect on bus use.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4153", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Kennedy of Southwark"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Kennedy of Southwark"} ], "uin" : "HL8598"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 4, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }