Empowering Local Authorities: An overview of the Bus Services Bill

The Bus Services (No.2) Bill [HOL], also known as the “Better Buses Bill” has been making its way through Parliament since it was introduced to the House of Lords on 17 December 2024. Sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT), the Bill represents a significant overhaul of how our bus services operate.

The draft Bill is designed to empower local authorities to choose the bus operating model that works for their area, and provides the necessary powers to underpin those models. It covers a wide range of topics including the streamlining of the franchising process, the provision of further powers for local transport authorities (LTAs), improved accessibility and safety, training for bus drivers and acceleration of zero emission bus roll out.

Below, we outline the current status of the Bill, the context in which it has arisen some of the key outcomes that it hopes to achieve.

Current status

The Better Buses Bill is currently at the Committee stage of the House of Lords, having had its second reading on 8 January. It still has the Report stage and a third reading to complete in the House of Lords before it will be passed on to the House of Commons for a similar process of scrutiny.

Why now? What prompted the Bill?

With the exception of London, bus services in Great Britain have been deregulated and privatised since the mid 1980s. This has naturally resulted in discrepancies between the various services across the country and led to what the government has described as a ‘postcode lottery of buses’.

Mayoral combined authorities have already been able to bring buses back under local authority control since 2017 using franchising agreements, with Greater Manchester being the first to do so with its Bee Network of buses. The Manchester scheme has seen a 5% increase in total journeys compared to the previous year, but the transition to bus franchising took Greater Manchester six years to achieve. A key goal of the Better Buses Bill is to streamline the franchising process so that authorities (a number of whom declared their interest following the perceived success in Greater Manchester) can follow suit more easily if they choose to do so for their areas.

In an effort to better connect communities and improve bus service reliability, the government also allocated £955 million last November to support bus services until 2026. This includes a particular focus on ‘historically underserved’ areas such as rural locations and small towns. On top of this, the government also introduced a £3 national bus fare cap which it claimed will save passengers up to 80% on some routes.

According to the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, the Bill ‘marks the next step on our journey to overhaul how bus services operate’ as ‘it is high time we recognise that local leaders need to be able to make decisions about their buses’.

What does the Better Buses Bill seek to deliver?

Franchising

• The Bill aims to introduce flexibilities and remove barriers to franchising, cutting down the time it takes for LTAs to franchise bus services – and enables all LTAs to franchise their bus services without the consent of the Secretary of State.
• This will also be supported by an update to the government franchising guidance.

Local Authority Owned Bus Companies (LABCOs)

• The Bill repeals the ban on local authorities establishing and running their own local authority bus companies.
• This makes it potentially easier for local authorities to control their services (i.e. their routes, timetables and fares), shaping offerings to fit the needs of their local communities.

Enhanced Partnerships

• Where local authorities do not want franchising or LABCOs, the draft Bill empowers them to work alongside private operators under Enhanced Partnerships to improve services.

Powers for LTAs

• LTAs will be provided with the power to make grants to bus service operators in their areas so that they can make funding decisions applicable to their specific local needs.
• Section 24 of the Public Passengers Vehicles Act 1981 will also be amended to give LTAs further fare enforcement powers so that they have the same powers as operators when it comes to enforcing payment of bus fares.

Protecting socially necessary local services

• Where bus services are provided under an Enhanced Partnership model, LTAs must specify requirements to be followed if the bus operator wishes to vary or cancel a socially necessary local service.
• The Bill aims to ensure that lifeline bus services cannot be removed or changed without LTAs reviewing their ability to serve communities (especially in rural and deprived areas).

Zero emission buses (ZEBs)

• The Bill will accelerate the rollout of ZEBs by introducing a restriction on the use of new non-zero emission buses on registered local bus services, with potential sanctions for operators failing to comply. However, this restriction will not take effect before 2030.

Information about local services (bus registration)

• There will be a statutory requirement for LTAs in Enhanced Partnership areas and franchising authorities to provide information about bus services to a common location.
• The Secretary of State will also be able to collect and publish greater amounts of data, all the way down to the individual bus operator level.

Safety and Accessibility

Measures promoting safety and accessibility for passengers and staff include:

•  providing LTAs with greater powers to bring forward byelaws to tackle anti-social behaviour and improve safety on buses;
• developing statutory guidance on the inclusivity of bus stops, stations and facilities; and
• enhanced safeguarding for school services.

Staff training

• The Bill provides for mandatory training of bus drivers and others to identify and respond to crime, anti-social behaviour and disability awareness and assistance.

Industry Commentary

The Better Buses Bill has been well-received among industry experts, regional mayors and Women’s charity groups, however others have cautioned against seeing this as a final step towards overhauling bus services. Crucially, a point made forcefully already during Committee stage is that the making available of powers alone is unlikely to be effective or grow bus patronage without the necessary funding that would be also be required.

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.