RMT on National Audit Office report on decline in bus use

RMT on National Audit Office report on decline in bus use

2 October 2020

RMT Press Office

Commenting on a new National Audit Office report which found that there has been a significant decline in bus passenger usage since 2010, RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:

“This decline in bus usage since 2010 is a direct result of our deregulated and privatised bus industry, under which the private operators are consumed with profiteering and axe socially necessary routes at their whim.

“The NAO report rightly highlights that bus services are a vital lifeline for the most disadvantaged in society, and yet since 2010, over 3300 bus services have been cut or altered.

“Bus services have a vital role to play in the decarbonisation of the transport sector, yet we are on the completely wrong trajectory, as the Government has presided over a massive decline in the bus industry.

“It is clear that the deregulation of our bus industry has been a complete failure. It is farcical that the Government prohibits local authorities from setting up their own bus companies.
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“We need a national bus strategy, underpinned by ring-fenced national funding, which requires all local authorities to establish a municipal bus company that serves the needs of their local communities, not the pockets of shareholders.”

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Tagged with: Bus, National Audit Office