Better Transport

Government guidance says transport authorities can work in partnership with bus companies to make bus use more attractive by:

• Improving the speed of the bus relative to the car, for example, through quality bus corridors / showcase route schemes, dedicated bus lanes, guided bus ways and other bus priority schemes (including bus priorities at junctions)
• Creating park and ride schemes
• Improving bus stops
• Providing easy-to-read public transport information at all stages of the journey
• Using real-time information at bus stops and other key sites
• Ensuring the bus route network is well publicised and easy to understand
• Ensuring bus services integrate with the full range of travel options
• Improving coverage and frequency of the core bus network
• Maintaining a network of services, either scheduled or demand responsive, to meet the travel needs of residents away from key corridors
• Ensuring that buses are comfortable, clean and well maintained
• Ensuring that buses are accessible with widespread use of low-floor buses
• Improving the reliability and punctuality of bus services
• Improving passenger safety and security on the bus network
• Improving attitude of staff towards customers
• Providing a broad range of appropriately priced and flexible tickets
• Influencing the local planning process to ensure that all significant new development is accessible by bus
• Integrating the bus network with education, social services, health services and voluntary sector transport

In metropolitan areas, some of these functions (for example, those involving highway or traffic powers) will fall to the metropolitan district rather than the PTE.The 2000 Transport Act also requires authorities, in developing their bus strategies, to have regard to any measures required or proposed for meeting the transport requirements needed in carrying out their local education or social services functions. (In the case of PTEs ,these will be the transport requirements of the metropolitan districts within their areas).

The bus strategy should therefore be set in this wider context and give details of any steps being taken to integrate the various transport requirements.

The guidance for local transport authorities on how they should prepare their bus strategies