Responding to today’s House of Commons Transport Select Committee report on competition in the local bus market, David Brown, who leads for pteg on bus issues, said:

'The Committee is right to emphasise that the bus is the backbone of public transport provision outside London and that we need effective Government policies to enable the bus sector to grow. We share MPs’ views that the Completion Commission's desire for more on-street competition is neither likely nor desirable. Instead the Committee is right that it should be for local transport authorities to determine how bus services should be best provided - be it through partnership or franchising. The Committee has also made some sound recommendations on the need for greater transparency and more effective monitoring of safety and performance. '

ENDS

pteg represents the six largest urban transport authorities outside London which serve eleven million people in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear and the West Midlands. Half of all bus trips outside London are made in PTE areas.

For more contact Jonathan Bray on 0113 251 7445 / 0781 804 1485