David Astill, ALBUM Chair, met with the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, in Nottingham yesterday, ahead of the launch of the Government’s new Integrated National Transport Strategy known as Better Connected.
The Secretary of State praised Nottingham as “best in class” for integrated public transport. The meeting provided the chance to highlight the high-quality service delivered by a municipal operator and to raise key concerns, including the impact of the Iranian war on the sector and challenges relating to the fare cap.
David Astill shares: “I was pleased to be able to speak with the Secretary of State about the impact that the surge in fuel prices is having on the bus & coach industry, particularly the SME and municipal sector.
I was also able to explain the constraint that the national single fare cap is having on our commercial businesses, and the fact that reimbursement for one of the chief generators of revenue is fixed whilst our costs are escalating. I expressed my concern that without some flexibility to the reimbursement model, there is likely to be an increase in the number of bus companies exiting from the fare cap scheme, which neither the industry or government really wants to see.”
David went on to say, “the alternative course of action will be for operators to withdraw the large number of marginal commercial services that operators currently provide, with the onus on LTAs to pick up the cost of reinstatement. I also warned that local authorities should be braced for an increase in school service contract prices for the academic year 26/27, as we would expect those prices to reflect the increase in fuel costs.”
