In our latest episode of the Bylines Podcast, we all looked back at the conferences of the five major political parties and what their main messages were, giving us an idea of what the next five years might look like.
But one of the major things Chris and I looked at were the two bills that excited us the most and essentially taking bets on which one will pass through first. Those two bills were The Better Bus Bill and the Renter’s Bill.
Better Buses Bill
While it is true both of these would have positive effects on the average person, the one I’m most excited for was the Better Buses Bill.
Reversing this bit of privatisation and giving the control of the buses would affect people living around cities the most. The council would be able to decide which routes to keep and keep ticket prices down, much like the Bee Network in Manchester.
This would keep routes that outlying towns and villages rely to keep connected, not just to each other, but to bigger cities for jobs and days out, supporting local economies.
In the North East, the talk of franchising out the buses has been going on since Kim McGuinness came into the role. In July, she approved a £101.2 million fund with the explicit intent to improve the bus network.
She said “Our bus system needs to work better for local people. I said I would greatly improve public transport in my manifesto and I will make this a reality.”
Later on that same month, a report was published by NECA that recommended a formal introduction of a Franchising Scheme Assessment.
Despite their rocky first 100 days and the tone they took at their conference, there is some hope on the horizon under this new government.
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