The headline‑grabbing Bus Services Act we passed last year rightly attracted plenty of attention. The coverage was mainly about franchising and “taking back control”.
In reality the Act created a smorgasbord of options, including an updated Enhanced Partnership (EP) model.
I’ve long argued this is a great route for many areas. That’s why the Government’s Review of Enhanced Partnerships report, published recently with almost no fanfare, deserves far more attention. It is quietly making changes for millions of bus passengers that will have real impacts.
After all passengers aren’t remotely interested in governance models or institutional diagrams.
They want a bus that turns up on time. To wait at a pleasant bus stop. To tap in, paying a simple, affordable fare. All aboard a clean, comfortable, eco-friendly bus, that speeds through any jams.
At their heart, Enhanced Partnerships are about co-operation between bus operators and local transport authorities, with passengers firmly at the centre.
They’ve already seen some notable successes. Portsmouth’s well‑cited improvements include 24/7 routes and serious investment in new bus priority corridors. In Stoke‑on‑Trent, passengers know their SMART ticket works across all bus operators. There’s a 50% zero-emission fleet in Leicester. Meanwhile the West of England’s buses, once a confusing mishmash of colours, are all turning to a bright green WESTbus brand, building identity and loyalty, and encouraging interchanges.
The new review seeks to take this best practice and to spread it nationwide.
It’s really annoying if the next bus that goes by is the wrong company’s and so your ticket isn’t valid. Or the frustration of having to pay twice for what feels like one journey.
So, it’s a win for passengers when your ticket works across buses and even better across buses and other types of transport too.
The review makes clear that multi‑operator ticketing is no longer optional. It is a minimum expectation. All EP areas will be expected to offer a full range of tickets that work across all the local buses which should become the default choice for passengers. Areas that fail to deliver risk losing funding.
Alongside this comes a welcome recognition of the benefits of fare capping. Instead of worrying about the cost of each individual trip, passengers should know they will never pay more than a set daily or weekly maximum. The review is explicit that all EP areas should incorporate capping, using the national contactless system currently being developed. I’ll be pressing for a clear timeline from government, because passengers deserve certainty.
Other minimum standards in the guidance also spell good news for passengers. Yes, it sounds simple – all the timetables should show all the local buses. But that’s simply not the case everywhere at the moment. Plus, a required commitment by the council to maintain bus shelters.
EPs are expected to meet these standards by March 2027.
The review also highlights the importance of ambitious bus priority schemes, citing examples such as Oxfordshire’s Cherwell Street bus lane and West Sussex’s Manor Royal extension. I agree. In fact, the Confederation of Passenger Transport says every £1 spent on bus priority can return up to £7 in value.
The legislation we passed last year also means reinvestment of savings made from Department for Transport‑funded bus priority schemes are invested back into buses. Again, good news.
Although this brings me to a growing structural challenge. As more regional authorities led by mayors are created, they become the transport authority. But the highways powers remain with individual councils. So, you’ve got one organisation in charge of the bus and a separate one in charge of the bus lane. That to me seems a recipe for inertia.
Finally, I was delighted to see the very first paragraph of the guidance emphasises the need to grow passenger numbers.
That must be our relentless focus.
If we want sustainable networks, we must grow farebox revenue.
More passengers equal more money from tickets, and so better services and stronger networks. An end to a spiral of decline. Replaced with a virtuous circle.
Now that’s something we can all get on board with!
If we want a sustainable bus network, we must grow the number of passengers and revenue from fares
