Claire Young MP urges Govt to back local bus services

Lib Dem MP Claire Young has called on the Labour Government to protect the bus fare cap after reports that the Transport Minister Heidi Alexander has refused to commit to the bus fare cap. 

 The government made the decision to hike the cap from £2 to £3 this year. However, commuters are facing another blow, following reports that Heidi Alexander has refused to confirm that the universal bus cap on single tickets won’t be scrapped.

Instead, the Transport Secretary has indicated that this will be replaced by a "targeted" scheme – but at present there is no further information about what this will look like. This has left people concerned the cost of their regular journeys could skyrocket.

Thornbury & Yate MP Claire young is urging the government to protect the bus fare cap, arguing the impact for rural communities across South Gloucestershire could be catastrophic and put a further squeeze on the cost of living.

Ms Young is also calling for more direct investment into frontline bus services, to guarantee a minimum level of service across the area and undo some of the recent cuts to local routes – including the cancellation of the 84/85, T2 and the re-routing of the Y1.

Commenting, Claire Young MP said: 

 “Bus routes are absolutely vital for so many communities across the country, allowing them to get to school, work, shops or the hospital. However, it’s very quickly becoming the case that many people across our area are finding that the bus network simply isn’t meeting their needs.

“For years, the Conservatives neglected our bus services and starved them of the funding needed to keep providing a proper service. Instead, they oversaw hundreds of cuts to vital services and left many communities almost totally cut off.

"The decision of the Labour government to hike the bus fare cap has already hurt those who rely on buses in their daily lives and are struggling due to rising living costs. To now do away with the cap altogether would only pile on the pain when many cannot afford it.

“The Government talks a lot about growth. If they truly want to achieve that then they should enable more people to get around and boost struggling local economies by by investing in our bus network."