Reforming England’s Bus Services: Insights from the Transport Committee’s Latest Report

On 13 August 2025, the House of Commons Transport Committee (the “Committee”) published its Report on bus services within England (the “Report”), calling for urgent reform in the funding and governance of local bus services. The Report follows the introduction of the Bus Services (No.2) Bill (the “Bill”), which is currently progressing through Parliament. 

The Committee’s inquiry was prompted by a sustained decline in bus usage across England. The Report revealed that between 2009 and 2024, bus journeys outside of London fell by 21.7%, from 4.6 billion per year to 3.6 billion. The Report highlights that the impact has been particularly severe within rural and semi-rural areas, with 56% of small towns now being classified as “transport deserts”.

The Report attributes this decline to a combination of reduced public funding, commercial pressures on operators and fragmented governance. While buses remain the most utilised form of public transport in England, their potential to support economic growth, social inclusion and environmental goals is being undermined by inconsistent service levels and unreliable connectivity.

Key Recommendations from the Report

A Minimum Level of Connectivity

The Committee calls for the Department for Transport (DfT) to adopt a national ambition for a minimum level of public transport connectivity by the end of the current Parliament. This would help to ensure that all communities, regardless of their location, have access to essential services such as healthcare, education, and employment. Local authorities would be responsible for determining how best to meet these standards, whether through conventional timetabled services or alternative models such as “demand-responsive transport”. 

Five-Year Funding Deals

A recurring theme in the Report is the need for financial certainty. The Committee recommends that both capital and revenue funding for bus services should be allocated in five-year blocks, rather than the current practice of annual funding cycles, to enable local authorities to plan and invest sustainably and on a long-term basis.

Safeguarding Socially Necessary Services

The Report supports the Government’s proposal to define “socially necessary services” but urges ministers to go further by ring-fencing funding to protect these routes. It recommends that operators should be required to commit to minimum service levels on such routes, particularly in those rural and deprived areas.

Youth Concessions and Fare Strategy

The Committee also highlights the impact of limited services and high fares on young people’s access to education and employment. It proposes a universal free bus pass for under-22s and calls for a coherent national strategy on bus fares, including clearer objectives and consistent fare-setting practices.

Franchising and Local Authority Capacity

While supportive of franchising, the Committee cautions that this will not be the singular solution to the currently inefficient bus services, with many local authorities lacking the legal, commercial and operational capacity to oversee franchised services. The Report recommends expanding the Bus Centre of Excellence to provide targeted support and training.

Rural Weighting in Funding Formulas

Finally, the Committee identifies a structural issue in the allocation of Bus Service Operators Grant (“BSOG”) and Bus Service Improvement Plan (“BSIP”) funding, which fails to account for the higher costs of operating in rural areas. It recommends introducing a rural weighting to better reflect these challenges.

Alignment with the Bus Services (No.2) Bill

We have previously summarised the key aspects of the Bill – please see our article here. Key aspects cover streamlining franchising, enhanced partnerships, local authority bus companies, and safety and accessibility.

While the aims of the Bill align with many of the Committee’s recommendations, there are some notable differences:

1. The Bill does not currently mandate five-year funding settlements. However, the Committee argues that without long-term financial planning, the powers granted under the Bill may be difficult to implement effectively.
2. Secondly, the Bill does not establish a statutory minimum level of public transport connectivity and the Committee recommends that such a standard be adopted nationally and tailored regionally. 
3. The Committee calls for ring-fenced grants to ensure these services are protected, however the Bill only requires Local Transport Authorities to define socially necessary services, it does not guarantee dedicated funding.
4. The final notable difference is that the Bill does not amend the BSIP or BSOG formulas to include rural weighting. 

While the Bill seeks to introduce significant reforms, the Committee’s findings suggest that further work may be needed to reverse long-term decline and to ensure equitable access to public transport. As the Bill continues its passage through Parliament, stakeholders will be watching closely to see whether these recommendations are adopted and translated into law.

For further information or advice related to the potential impact of the Bill, please contact Chris Simms, Brian Wong, Chris Lewis, Charlotte Robinson or your usual Burges Salmon contact.

This article has been written by Jade Gillett and Charlotte Robinson.

A new Transport Committee report calls on the Government to reform the way local bus services are funded and to adopt a national ambition for a minimum level of public transport connectivity.

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/153/transport-committee/news/208949/englands-buses-more-ambition-needed-to-undo-a-decade-of-decline-and-get-bums-back-on-seats-transport-committee-tells-govt