\u00a0 \u00a0 Lightwood told delegates: \u201cNo more tinkering around the edges \u2026\u00a0Labour\u2019s bold industrial strategy, together with our ambitious plan for communities to take back control of their transport system will allow the sector and the economy to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n This government has presided over the managed decline of our nation\u2019s bus network<\/p>\n \u201cThis government has presided over the managed decline of our nation\u2019s bus network,\u201d he said. \u201cThe stats speak for themselves \u2013 300 million fewer bus miles last year compared to 2010. Thousands of bus routes lost over the last decade.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the pledge to introduce 4,000 new zero emission buses was \u201cwoefully off-target\u201d and he attacked prime minister Rishi Sunak for suggesting that cars could be allowed in bus lanes.<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 The stability of franchise contracts will provide the certainty the sector needs for strategic, long-term investment in the business<\/p>\n Lightwood argued that reversing deregulation of buses was in the interests of bus operators: \u201cThe stability of franchise contracts will provide the certainty the sector needs for strategic, long-term investment in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n Outlining his vision of the future, he said: \u201cPublic\u00a0transport will be absolutely\u00a0key for economic growth in our towns and cities \u2026\u00a0and key in also achieving our carbon targets.\u00a0So I see very much the future as working hand in hand with you guys to grow your businesses, to grow your passenger numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Lightwood warned that expectations need to be managed because \u201cwe won\u2019t be able to deliver everything we want to deliver as quickly perhaps as we would like\u201d, and he would not commit to providing the UK bus sector with a five-year funding settlement as demanded by CPT. <\/p>\n \u00a0 DON\u2019T MISS OUT \u2013 GET YOUR COPY! \u2013\u00a0click here to subscribe!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The post Labour \u2013 \u2018No more tinkering on the edges\u2019<\/a> first appeared on Passenger Transport<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u200b\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With a general election drawing closer, shadow transport minister Simon Lightwood addressed bus and coach operators in London last week \u00a0Simon Lightwood at last week\u2019s CPT Conference \u00a0 An incoming Labour government would use simplified and extended franchising powers to grow public transport, and provide the sector with greater certainty. That was the message from shadow local transport minister Simon…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camcab"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3713"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/camcab.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Simon Lightwood at last week\u2019s CPT Conference<\/em><\/p>\n
\nAn incoming Labour government would use simplified and extended franchising powers to grow public transport, and provide the sector with greater certainty. That was the message from shadow local transport minister Simon Lightwood at last week\u2019s CPT Conference<\/em> in London.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
\nLabour\u2019s remedy is primarily focussed on the simplification and extension of franchising powers to all parts of England under a new Take Back Control Act. He said: \u201cLabour\u2019s plans are nothing short of the biggest, most ambitious reform to the bus network in 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article appears in the latest issue of\u00a0Passenger Transport<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n