This obsession over new projects has seen the progressive worsening of every government's public transport policies since 1997. By not supporting the unsexy, non-headline-grabbing, core day-to-day stuff, whole networks are in danger of falling over at the expense of these glamour schemes which have a very poor record of becoming sustainable without subsidy. We don't need all these millions of pounds being spent with consultancies, putting together bid packages to be read by trolls at the DfT. What the industry desperately needs is money to support and strengthen a realistic network of services. Money to run buses, not write glossy documents about running buses. If the DfT wants to set goals for things such as multi-operator ticketing and vehicle standards, then that's fine, but this infernal cycle of dreamland paperwork around the civil service needs to stop.
Think there are two things to really look at here.
The Labour Government really failed to take the opportunity that they had and really champion public transport. Spending on the NHS and schools was obviously much needed but they never did anything fundamental in terms of public transport and especially buses. They did begin to start to level up things with the fuel duty escalator to impact private car usage, though the monies raised were used for health, education and welfare. They gave the Rural Bus Challenge funding to local authorities as a way of dealing with the public mood after the fuel protests.
Now, it's right that funding is devolved down to local authorities (than the dead hand of DfT) and some LAs were sensible whilst others just blew the cash on outlandish stuff. Sunday service from Yeovil to Chard? Or Wells to Frome? Arguably, we are seeing EXACTLY the same stupidity in Herefordshire now.... They announced services to new, free services on a Sunday and these included town services in Ledbury and Ross - the mind boggles!
Then there was the election bribe of the twirly pass; something that I actually welcomed but soon appreciated that it was the government writing a cheque but for the industry to cash in many respects. A something for nothing give away to Marjorie and Gerald that was so uneven that hitherto reasonable local routes were suddenly no longer viable.
However, then we saw the cutting of the austerity years from 2010, and the pernicious way in which central govt went about things. The cut of the Fuel Duty Rebate (rebranded as a grant), increased cost pressures from pensions contributions, cutting funding to LAs so they carried the can for what services, bus or otherwise, were cut locally, and the tweaking of ENCTS so firms don't get the same remuneration. That one Tory administration is making capital on repairing the damage of another is almost satirical. That Hereford could lose daytime buses but Leominster town service gains free Sunday ones is almost beyond parody.
