‘Transport poverty’ warning over rural bus cuts

MPs on the Commons Transport Committee were told bus services in remote areas have been disappearing over recent years as cash-strapped councils withdraw key subsidies which maintain otherwise unprofitable routes.

Action with Communities in Rural England’s chief executive, Janice Banks, said the most vulnerable sections of society are hit hardest by the paucity of public transport in the countryside.

“The problem with the way things are going is the very young, and the very old, and the ones with low income, are the ones that lose out – and aren’t then able to join in either socially or economically,” she said.

“So rural isolation increases, because they don’t have access to the services and opportunities that other areas do.”

Rural bus services have been decimated in Yorkshire since 2010, with local authorities having lost more than a quarter of their funding through the coalition’s public spending squeeze.

North Yorkshire County Council has announced plans to reduce bus subsidies by a further 25 per cent in 2014 – the equivalent of £1.1m a year.

“There have been cuts in bus services which have affected the whole of the country,” Ms Banks told the committee. “As services have been reduced, where households can afford to they are forced to buy a car – because without it they have no alternative.

“It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The problem is reversing that trend, because if there was more regular and reliable transport, more families would feel confident about not having to buy their own car.”

Greener Journeys group chief executive Claire Haigh warned that there are still many households that cannot afford to run their own car.

“Transport poverty is even more serious than fuel poverty,” she said.

The cross-party committee launched its inquiry into passenger transport in isolated communities last year, and will be taking evidence from a variety of witnesses over the coming weeks.

In evidence submitted to the committee, East Riding of Yorkshire Council highlighted the challenges it faces in trying to ensure the rural county is well served by public transport.

The council warned of the “increasing pressure” placed on local authorities in rural areas as they fight to maintain a decent transport service.

“The importance of providing certain bus routes is fundamental to local communities and wider society,” it said.

“Unfortunately, in light of recent reductions in funding from central Government, these services are under threat.”

The Conservative-run council issued a stark warning of the impact of further cuts to rural transport networks.

“The withdrawal of public transport services can have a marked effect on the livelihood of residents who rely upon such transport to access key services such as doctors’ surgeries and shopping centres,” the authority added.

But in its own submission to the inquiry, the Department for Transport (DfT) insisted the responsibility for maintaining such services lies with councils, rather than central government.

“Local authorities, operators and local communities should work in partnership to decide how best to provide access to services for residents in rural areas where commercial services are not viable,” the DfT said. “This may mean tendered bus services, or it may be other more flexible services provided by the council or the voluntary sector, eg dial-a-ride.”