Bus ministers urged not to 'wash their hands' of local services
MPs have urged transport ministers not to "wash their hands of all responsibility for local bus services", in a new report which found that local councils have slashed bus funding this year, forcing many operators to withdraw services and raise fares.
The cross-party Transport Committee warned today in a review of England's bus services outside London that even deeper cuts in services are likely in 2012-13 as local authorities struggle to deal with budget cuts.
"The government claims it wants to see better bus services with many more smartcard-enabled journeys," said Louise Ellman, chair of the Transport Committee, launching the report.
"Yet, following the government's Spending Review, we have seen a significant number of bus services withdrawn around the country, and there is every indication that fares are set to rise well above the rate of inflation in some areas."
Ellman added that more than 70 per cent of local authorities have moved rapidly to reduce funding for part-subsidised bus services, forcing most operators to withdraw services and push up fares.
Warning ministers that they "cannot wash their hands of all responsibility for local bus services", the report calls on the Department for Transport (DfT) to monitor the extent of service cutbacks made this year and to review service provision again after the Bus Service Operator Grant cuts come into effect in 2012-13.
The committee also called on the Local Government Association (LGA) to identify and disseminate information about good and bad practice in the delivery of cost-effective and flexible bus services.
While today's report mainly focused on the social impact of service cuts, the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) also voiced concerns that reduced services could lead to increased carbon emissions as more people are forced to use cars.
"The environmental aspect sometimes gets overlooked because there's such a massive social impact," Sophie Allain, CBT campaigner, told BusinessGreen .
"We are concerned about emissions and climate change and the impact of traffic in rural and other areas. By inflicting cuts on bus networks, you're tipping bus networks into a spiral of decline."
Research by the CBT has found that a shift from cars to buses could make a large contribution to emissions reductions in the UK. But if services decline and fares go up, people are more likely to choose the car over the bus if they can afford to, the group said.
Train From Newcastle To London - News
But in confident dreams, there we are, at Boxing Day soccer matches in London, and later we take the train to Manchester and Newcastle, and I suppose we listen to Christmas carols and hold warm chestnuts. And there's rare beef and Yorkshire pudding and
According to the Department for Transport, space for 8800 more rail passengers will be incorporated on routes in Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Liverpool. Rail Minister Theresa Villiers announced that a
London - Liverpool's latest signing, Jose Enrique, said he had joined the club to win titles, beginning with the Premier League crown this season. The 25-year-old Spanish left back arrived at Liverpool from Newcastle and signed a long-term deal on
In separate news, the DfT today announced that space for up to an extra 8800 rail passengers is being created on commuter services in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle. Rail minister Theresa Villiers said that,
in a measure that will also benefit key commuter services in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. Northern Rail will get 22 extra train carriages, First Great Western six and an additional four carriages will go to London Midland.
Pateiksim privatizācijai – NĒ « socialismslv
S.Točs : “Eiropa mums liek sadalīt un privatizēt Latvijas dzelzceļu. Pareizāk sakot, atdalīt no Latvijas dzelzceļa peļņu nesošo dzelzceļa kravu uzņēmumu LDz Cargo un privatizēt to.Kādā veidā notiek rūpes par patērētāja interesēm, ja viņš galarezultātā iegūst nevis lētāku, bet dārgāku preci, to neviens izskaidrot nevar.” The socialists and social-democrats on the European left generally believe that offerings such as transit, electricity, gas, and garbage collection should remain in public hands, with infrastructure and operations run by the government. That point of view held sway throughout the post-war period, reaching its zenith with French President François Mitterrand’s mass nationalizations of industrial concerns at the beginning of the 1980s.
Right-wing parties, on the other hand, intent on increasing competition and spurring the market, have been fighting for privatization since the end of the Cold War. British Prime Minister John Major’s decision in 1993 to end the public monopoly of British Rail was the first major step in terms of transportation. European Union edicts in the following years, imposed by a liberal (in the traditional, non-American sense) right-wing majority on the Council, have forced national governments to privatize their public services and open them up to competition. The collapse and subsequent nationalization in 2002 of the United Kingdom’s private railroad owner, Railtrack, was the first warning that something was amiss in the idea that infrastructure could be provided efficiently outside of the public sector. The similar failure of London & Continental, which managed the construction of the High-Speed One project, provided more evidence. Yesterday’s nationalization of Taiwan’s defunct high-speed rail line, constructed with private money, suggests that the problems are not limited to the British Isles. The system, to describe it quickly, doesn’t work.
Take the example of the East Coast mainline franchise, which concerns services running from London to Glasgow, running through Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, and Peterborough. In 2005, Network Rail awarded the service to GNER for 1.3 billion pounds over ten years. By 2007, the company had to hand back its services because it could not handle the costs of the line, which had suffered ridership losses after the London terrorist attacks. That year, the contract was renegotiated with National Express, another company, which agreed to pay 1.4 billion pounds by 2015 to operate the line, which is the country’s busiest long-distance route, with 17 million riders a year.
@ from work has two season tickets, we will manage! if not well go newcastle cus it's close? or a BUZZIN train to London
The train journey from Newcastle to London is really one of the most beautiful going. Despite the fact it's delivering me back to riot city!
@ sam, i want to go to the gig but i cant, if i could find money for train tickets from Newcastle to London:(
Heading for the train back to Newcastle. I hate leaving London it's like a home from home. See you next weekend. Mucho love.Train From Newcastle To London - Bookshelf
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