Whatever one's views on the legitimacy of an unelected body whose almost 800 members have guaranteed jobs for life, this report from  bus industry trade journal Route One shows that the House of Lords can sometimes hit the nail on the head.

House of Lords report slams poor bus services and ‘wasteful’ bidding processes

A new report released by the House of Lords Build Environment Committee has criticised ‘wasteful competitive bidding processes’, bus service cuts, and ‘services not designed around passenger needs’ as being a hindrance to public transport outside of London.

Public transport in towns and cities calls for government to address these factors, claiming that forecasted cuts of up to 20% risk a “downward spiral of reduced demand” on bus journeys.

It highlights the process of local authority bidding on central government funding, which it says is “costly, resource intensive, and inefficient”. It recommends switching to a system of periodic block grants, which would encourage “more coherent and long-term transport delivery” with “spending priorities determined locally”.

The report also calls for Enhanced Partnerships and franchising schemes to be monitored by local and central government to determine their effectiveness and “value for money”.

Says Lord Moylan, Chair of the Built Environment Committee: “We have called on the government to take action on the areas inhibiting the delivery of quality public transport services in towns and cities outside London. One of the immediate problems is the end of pandemic support funding for buses in March 2023, which could lead to bus cuts of up to 20% and risk a downward spiral of reducing demand. This would hit the poorest hardest.

“The government should also improve the way transport projects are funded, by moving away from local areas bidding for competitive central government capital funding, which is costly, resource intensive and inefficient. Instead, there should be a system of more periodic block grants.

“A framework should be set to allow local authorities to better coordinate local plans and transport planning.”

Other findings and conclusions from the report include calls to evaluate the feasibility of multi-operator ticketing in large towns and cities, improvements to data sharing for passengers, the publication of the review of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme, and assessment of demand-responsive transport from Fflecsi trials in Wales.

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Stagecoach Fares Increase

 

In what will be its second increase this year, Stagecoach is revising fares from next Monday, 7th November. Here we show you the change will affect passengers in Lancaster and Morecambe, whilst below we have some tips on how to save money on the new fares.

Singles and Returns

These will rise by about 5%, although some will rise by a greater or lesser amount as the company is seeking to reduce the number of individual fares it offers, presumably by taking out fare stages.

Day Riders

Good news is that the adult Bay Area Day Rider price remains unchanged at £5. This price has remained unchanged for a number of years and has increasingly replaced return tickets for longer and even medium range journeys across the district.

The Child and Young Person (under-19) version increases by 30p to £3.10

The "Family" Day Rider, which allows a day's travel for up to 5 people of whom no more than 2 may be adults, is renamed the "Group Day Rider". Validity remains the same but the price is REDUCED from £13 to £10.

The Bay Area Plus Day Rider ticket, which covers a wider area at a higher price is, however, withdrawn. This ticket lost a lot of its former value - and its customers - when Stagecoach withdrew from serving the Lune Valley and Ingleton.

Any passengers who still bought the Bay Plus ticket are directed to the Lancashire Day Rider, which covers a large area from Burton-in-Kendal in the north to Liverpool, Wigan and Bolton in the south of the county. This ticket remains priced at £8.50 for Adults, £4.90 for Under-19s and £18 for the "Group" version.

The North West Explorer ticket, which covers all the above and also extends northwards to Carlisle, Dumfries and Newcastle-upon-Tyne as well as southwards to Chester, rises by 50p to £12.50 for adults, and £9.50 for children and by £1.50 to £36 for groups.

Mega Riders (7-Days)

The seven-day Bay Area Mega Rider increases by £1 from £17 to £18 for adults and by 70p from £15.30 to £16 for under-19s

The Bay Area Plus Mega Rider is abolished, but as there is no 7-day version of the Lancashire Day Rider, any passengers currently using this ticket would seem to have no option other than a "North West Gold Megarider", which has the same area of validity as the North West Explorer and which increases from £30.60 to £32 for adults and £66 to £69 for Groups.

Mega Riders (28 days +)

Mega Riders for periods of 28 days and longer are not changing in price until 28th November, when an increase of approximately 5% is expected.

Tickets Withdrawn

As well as the Bay Area Plus tickets, the "Big Group Return" ticket, bizarrely listed under "Bus & Boat Tickets" on the company's website and the "Out and About with your Mates" ticket, seemingly not promoted at all, are also withdrawn from sale.

Fares in other parts of the Stagecoach network are also changing and details are on this link.

HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON THE NEW FARES 

If you will be affected by the increase, there are a number of ways in which you might be able to save money on the new fares.

• If you have a mobile phone with internet access and can use it for online purchases the Stagecoach Flexi-Rider is a good money-saver.

• A Flexi Rider is an electronic bundle or carnet of 5 or 10 Day Riders that you store on your 'phone and use as required over a period of twelve months.  A "Flexi 5" costs £20 (or £4 a day) and a "Flexi10" is £35 (or £3.50 a day). 
• Using a " Flexi 5" or "Flexi 10" ticket is cheaper than a SINGLE ticket from Lancaster to Morecambe and cheaper than a RETURN from Torrisholme to Lancaster or Heysham to Morecambe.
• If you currently buy a Mega Rider at £17 (to be £18) but use it for just 5 days a week then a "Flexi10" bundle would give you ten days travel for £35, a saving of £1 over two MegaRiders (although you would lose the freedom to make additional journeys on the other two days).

• Flexi Tickets are also available for the Lancashire Day Rider and North West Explorer at similar discounts of a Flexi 5 for the price of 4 Day Riders and a Flexi 10 for the price of 7.

• Two other ways of saving on bus fares are to be over 66 years of age, in which case you will qualify for a Concessionary Bus Pass (also available to persons with disabilities) giving free off-peak bus travel throughout England

• Or if you have the good fortune to be under 66, to wait until January 2023 when the government's promised cap on bus fares at a maximum of £2 comes into effect and lasts until March.