Greener Journeys publishes 'Bus Manifesto' for the next Parliament
Tue 10 September 2013
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Greener Journeys, the national campaign to encourage modal shift from car to bus and coach, has published a 'Bus 2020 Manifesto' which sets out concrete, practical solutions that it says will generate growth, boost jobs and protect the environment. The Manifesto calls for the provision of bus lanes and improved traffic management systems as well as a new tax incentive to encourage people to commute by bus rather than by car.
Launched at an event in the House of Commons, attended by transport minister Norman Baker, the Manifesto sets out three key proposals. It also presents three case studies from organisations demonstrating good practice in the promotion of bus use.
The three recommendations are:
- that the next government should expand the support available to local authorities and bus operators for installing bus lanes and improved traffic management systems. This is the best way to reduce journey times and improve reliability, and really cuts to the heart of the conditions needed on the ground for the bus to compete with the car. According to the report authors, by 2020 the annual net benefits of this proposal would be just over £1.3 billion by 2020, and there would be a wider jobs impact worth £75 million.
- the introduction of a Bus Bonus; a new tax incentive to encourage people to commute by bus rather than by car. The Bus Bonus would offer a new 34 per cent tax and national insurance saving on season tickets to employees at a workplace with 10 or more staff. The Government would forego some income tax and national insurance revenue. But the annual net benefits would be worth £72 million and the extra jobs created would be worth £25 million.
- the introduction of more discounted bus travel schemes for young people. As a first step, the Manifesto calls for the development of a concessionary bus travel scheme, offering a 50 per cent discount on bus fares to apprentices. This, the authors suggest, would represent a significant step in helping young and unemployed people access training. And the scheme would easily pay for itself, with net benefits of £6 million and an annual jobs impact of £8 million.
Greener Journeys says that successive Governments have failed to capitalise on the potential of the bus to facilitate growth but that evidence of the wider economic impact of buses has now grown substantially.
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