Better public transport?

The other week, I received this jubilant media release from the Campaign for Better Transport.

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Finally...a National Bus Strategy Hello Frank After years of campaigning we are celebrating with the announcement that the Government will deliver a National Bus Strategy from March 2020, meaning buses will no longer be the Cinderella of transport modes. A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this happen, whether you took one of the actions on our website, wrote to your MP to ask them to support a National Bus Strategy, or made a financial donation, we couldn’t have done it without you! Millions of us rely on buses to get to school, work and training, shops and services, and to ease loneliness. The steady decline of our most used form of public transport has led to communities being cut off and an increase in car dependency. A National Bus Strategy, backed up by a long-term funding settlement, will give local authorities and bus operators the ability to plan for years to come and ensure the sustainability of critical services for communities while stemming the cuts in services and working to increase patronage. We will now be working to help ensure that a National Bus Strategy contains the right fiscal and policy interventions to help local authorities and bus operators increase ridership, integrate buses with other modes and set a path to zero emissions. Find out what else we think should be in a National Bus Strategy in our latest blog. Read our blog

Then there was a more sober assessment from the Liberal Democrats:

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Transport, said:
 
“Just as people are starting to become aware of the damage we’re doing to our planet, the Conservatives have committed to spending £25 billion on roads. Given the government claim to be serious about tackling our clean air crisis and the climate emergency, this announcement is a slap in the face for the planet.

"Instead we should focus our energy on improving alternative modes of transport – spending the money on better and safer cycling networks, footpaths, and green public transport. 

“The Tories have also pledged just £220 million for buses – that’s less than 1% of the money promised. A drop in the ocean for what is really needed to transform bus services. Clearly for the Tories that the car is king.