Calls to improve public transport in rural areas

The government must take immediate action to improve public transport in rural areas, the Campaign for Better Transport has argued.

With the government's new Bus Services Bill is currently in the House of Lords and will soon be introduced in the House of Commons, the campaign group is arguing that, while the Bill is good news for transport in towns and cities, there remains little to improve services in rural areas, where cuts have been most damaging.

Therefore, the Campaign for Better Transport is urging the government to introduce: local public transport assessments, whereby local authorities should be required to carry out assessments of need for public transport in their areas; roll out Total Transport, a new approach which works by combining budgets and planning to give better more efficient services, to all local authorities; improved funding for buses; and asset of community value, meaning public transport which is essential in connecting communities can also be protected.

Stephen Joseph, chief executive, Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Public transport cuts can have a devastating impact on rural areas. If you don't have access to a car, the chances are you're reliant on buses to get you to school, to hospital, to friends or to the shops. If that bus service disappears it can leave whole villages completely isolated. The Government must use the Bus Services Bill to give rural local authorities the powers and funding to stop communities getting cut off."