Fares paid by users of bus services in most of Britain are expensive, but Bus Users UK is not sure that a proliferation of competition will have the desired effect: it could create other problems for bus users.

‘We do consider that bus fares in much of Britain are too expensive and in particular can be prohibitive to people on low income and on benefits’, says Bus Users UK Chairman Gavin Booth. ‘Day and season tickets often bring down fares to a much more acceptable level, but these rely on just one company providing services in an area to work effectively’. The organisation is very much aware that many bus services can only support one bus operator and that splitting the demand between two or more companies can lead to one or other — or worse still, both — being forced out of business and a worse service for passengers.

‘The OFT talks of the bus market being “stable” as if that’s a bad thing’, says Gavin Booth. ‘Passengers want stability and they want simplicity. The last thing we need is a return to the instability which did so much to ruin bus services in the mid-1980s. It took the industry 10 years to recover.’

Bus Users UK would like to see a much greater recognition of the part bus services play in social inclusion, reducing carbon emissions and contributing to the economy of the country. ‘Public money put into bus services is always described as “subsidy”’, said Gavin Booth, ‘whereas public money spent on roads to make life easier for car users is “investment”. When we start “investing” in better bus services we might see buses playing a much more vital role in transporting people efficiently and using fewer natural resources than moving the same number of people by car. More people on buses, not a simplistic view of competition, will reduce fares. This review is more akin to rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic!’