Council-run buses could return under Labour government, says Ed …

Bus firms run by councils could return to Gloucestershire under a Labour government, according to Ed Miliband. The shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero made the comments while visiting voters in Stroud^[1] yesterday with parliamentary candidate Simon Opher.

Mr Miliband told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that communities being able to “take back control” of public transport is one of their key promises for the next general election.

He said: “It will basically mean that each local authority area will be allowed to have a London-style system of regulation. At the moment, it’s a free-for-all and the free-for-all is part of the problem.”

He said lifting the ban on municipal bus companies will be key to reversing the cuts to bus services^[3]. Dr Opher said allowing communities to “take back control” so that "local people will have a local say over their buses" is one of the most exciting things Labour^[4] is proposing.

“In my village of Uley, which only has about 1,000 people, we have a double decker bus going through there with about just one person on it. The reason there’s one person on it is they are so unreliable not many use it. So we need reliable and relatively cheap and much more tailored bus services.

“I’ve been trying to use the buses recently. When they run they are great. It’s a great way of building community, public transport. It’s actually not harming the climate or the environment.

"But it’s just really difficult at the moment. We need buses that get people to work and school on time.”

References

1. ^{^} Stroud (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Forest of Dean Green Party hoping for 'traffic light' alliance with Labour and Lib Dems (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
3. ^{^} to reversing the cuts to bus services (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Labour (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk)