6,000 green buses needed to address regional transport inequality

The Government’s policy paper for improving bus services in England’s regions that was published in May 2022 sought to make bus services “significantly closer to the standards of London,” however, the new research claims that these aims are not being achieved - citing the fact that only 87 zero emissions buses are in use outside the capital.

In order for the UK to stay on track to reach net zero emissions, the distance travelled by cars needs to be reduced by 20% by 2030.

The IPPR’s analysis shows that a commitment from the Government to level up bus services across the country could see an increase of 2.7 billion bus journeys, which is equivalent to 900,000 cars being taken off the road, and reducing emissions by 18%.

To reach this target, it calls for an additional 5,800 green buses outside of London - an increase of 91% in West Yorkshire alone.

More than 4,000 bus services have been lost in England in the last decade, with only London and the South East not seeing a decline in the number of miles travelled by buses between 2004/5 and 2019/20.

The lack of investment in areas including the North of England means that London has at least twice as many bus trips per person as any other metropolitan area in England. In Yorkshire, the disparity in the ratio of bus journeys made is 4-to-1.

In 2018/19, there were 245 bus trips per person in the capital, compared to 64 in South Yorkshire, and 61 in West Yorkshire.

To address this inequality, the new analysis concludes with a number of recommendations, including the phasing out of the sale of new diesel buses by 2030 and to ensure that the default fuel choice for buses is electricity instead of hydrogen (as production of the latter frequently creates carbon dioxide as a by-product).

Joshua Emden, senior research fellow at IPPR, said: “The government’s National Bus Strategy committed to level up bus services across England and raise them to the same standard as London.

“Our analysis shows how a modest investment from government would deliver on these promises, decarbonise current and future bus fleets and have a transformative impact on local bus connectivity.”

Stephen Frost, principal research fellow at IPPR, added: “The Levelling Up White Paper sets out a mission to bring public transport across the country closer to London standards by 2030. To achieve this goal we need to go further than simply electrifying all our existing buses.

“To provide the same level of bus service in all English cities as is seen in the capital, we will need many more buses running on existing and new routes, and to redesign our urban areas to make public transport, walking, cycling, and wheeling the most affordable, pleasant, and efficient ways to travel.