Bus Services (No.2) Bill: call for evidence

The Public Bill Committee will meet for the first time on Tuesday 24 June 2025 to scrutinise the Bus Services (No.2) Bill line by line. and is expected to report by 5.00pm on Tuesday 8 July 2025.

When the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill, it is no longer able to receive written evidence.

Anyone considering submitting written evidence is strongly advised to do so as soon as possible, as the Committee can conclude its considerations earlier than the expected deadline.

Aims of the Bill

The bill intends to implement Labour manifesto pledges to remove the ban on local authority-owned bus companies ownership, and to expand local authority powers to franchise local bus services.

Making franchising easier

Bus franchising essentially means that a local authority specifies the bus routes, frequencies and fares it wants, through contracts with operators. It is the model that has been used on Transport for London (TfL) buses for decades and has been recently introduced on Manchester’s new Bee Network buses too. The government has said the bill will allow more parts of England to “emulate the huge success of publicly controlled buses in Greater Manchester and London”. The bill would remove some of the central government permissions currently required to initiate a franchising scheme.

Franchising is an unfamiliar model to most local authorities. It can take many years to set up, and carries financial and operational risks.

Improving enhanced partnerships and protecting services

Franchising has long been the exception to the rule. Since the bus industry was deregulated in the 1980s, most bus services have been run on a commercial basis by private bus operators who determine routes, timetables and fares. Since the Conservative government’s 2021 National Bus Strategy, bus operators in England have been required to enter enhanced partnerships (EPs) with local transport authorities (LTAs). EPs give LTAs some influence over bus service provision, but less than they would get under franchising. EPs are currently the ‘default’ model for bus provision in England.

The bill contains several technical provisions intended to strengthen EPs. These include a clause that provides a definition of “socially necessary bus services”. The clause contains a requirement for EPs to list all such “socially necessary” services, and a requirement for EPs to specify measures that would apply if an operator proposed cancelling or drastically changing such a service.

Introducing mandatory bus staff training and byelaw-making powers

The bill would require mandatory training for bus staff to help them assist disabled passengers, and to deal with onboard crime and anti-social behaviour. The bill would also give TfL, and other local transport authorities in England, the power to introduce byelaws to deal with fare evasion and onboard anti-social behaviour, and the power to issue penalty charge notices to enforce such powers.

Mandating zero-emission buses

The bill would require bus operators in England to stop registering new non-zero-emission buses after a specified date to be confirmed by regulations. This date could not be earlier than 1 January 2030.

Introducing guidance on accessibility of bus stopping places

The bill would allow the government to publish guidance on the accessibility of “stopping places”, meaning bus stops, bus stations and bus shelters.

Territorial extent and application

The majority of the bill extends to England and Wales, but will have practical application in England only. The exceptions to this are:

• safeguarding duties on school bus services, anti-social behaviour training for bus staff and the purpose of the bill (which all apply to England and Wales)
• measures on bus staff disability training, and the collation of bus statistics (which both apply to England, Wales and Scotland)

Local bus services are a devolved issue. The government has said that two bill clauses may affect this devolved issue and therefore require legislative consent from the Senedd. The government has also said it will consider options to “ensure that constitutional requirements for consent are met” during the bill’s Commons stages

Follow the progress of the Bus Services (No.2) Bill [Lords]