Talking Politics: Critical time for bus services in Calderdale and West Yorks

First, the good news. It’s great that the Mayor of West Yorkshire has brought in a cap on fares – a move that the government has now copied a few months later. It’s a vital step in making sure that bus travel is an affordable option for everyone.

We really depend on buses in Calderdale - so reducing fares is great, but only if there are also reliable and frequent services. Without this, people end up forced to use the car to get to work, go shopping, visit our town centres etc - clogging up the roads and damaging our environment and air quality.

So the bad news is that as people go back to work after the break, the short-sighted approach the government has taken to bus services, especially in the North, means that public transport this year

faces the real threat of more cuts by bus operators, especially in rural areas. This risks real damage to quality of life especially for older people in our villages and scattered settlements.

And it is not only rural services that are at risk. In the past, we have also seen repeated reductions in the number of earlier and later bus services, which of course are absolutely critical for people who depend on public transport to get two and from work.

The other big challenge is that the services just don’t turn up when expected. In places like Southowram where I live, and many other communities, that’s a real problem when buses only run once every hour.

But the biggest risk to our services right now is the lack of certainty, with bus operators threatening to cut back services, or in some cases even removing them altogether. The root cause of this rests

squarely with central Government; after supporting bus services with emergency funding during Covid, the latest short term funding is due to end in March.

We are lobbying hard for some continued support, as these short term bail outs don’t provide certainty for bus operators to plan services beyond this spring and it is the residents who suffer.

Nationally, the Campaign for Better Transport says that up to 20% of services in England might be cut over the next few months, given the cost of fuel and the struggle to make some routes pay.

It would be short-sighted for the government to have poured out billions during Covid, only to allow services to collapse now just as passengers are returning and the importance of reliable and

affordable bus services during a cost of living crisis is clearer than ever. We will be working with the Mayor and colleagues across West Yorkshire to secure a commitment to the long-term funding we

need to deliver this. If publicly accountable, reliable and affordable buses are right for London, then they are right for us in Calderdale too!