For too long, people in Cumbria have had to put up with bus services that don’t work for us. Whole communities have no access to buses at all and those that do face unreliable timetables and connections that don’t join up. In rural areas like West Cumbria, this isn’t a small inconvenience – it’s a barrier to jobs, education, healthcare and social life.
Until now we’ve been powerless to do anything about it. Services are run for profit and commercial operators are not accountable to the communities they serve or the elected representatives of those communities. That’s about to change in Cumbria.
Last week the Government announced Cumbria as the location for a groundbreaking new rural bus franchising pilot. For the first time, we’ll be able to test what taking back control of our buses really means – giving local leaders and communities the power to design a network that works for the people who actually use it.
Franchising allows councils to set bus standards, routes and timetables – putting passengers, not profits, first. It’s about running buses as a public service again, not just a business.
The Labour Government is also backing Cumberland’s Labour Council to invest in growing the bus network. £3.5 million to fund new and improved routes across West Cumbria will be announced any day now – perhaps by the time you read this – and it will show what can be achieved when local and national government work together. This investment will deliver better timetables, more frequent services, and new links that connect people to jobs, schools and high streets. Thanks go to Cllr Denise Rollo for leading the charge to improve our local bus network.
And this is just the beginning. The Government will shortly announce a multi-year bus funding settlement for Cumberland Council – the first of its kind – allowing the council to plan for the long term. I’ll be pushing for this to deliver more regular services between our towns and villages, improved evening and weekend routes, and investment in cleaner, more reliable buses for the future.
But to truly take back control of our bus network, we need a directly elected mayor for Cumbria with the powers to bring services fully under public control. A mayor can join up transport planning across the county – ensuring routes connect, fares are fair, and buses run when people need them.
This franchising pilot is just the first stop on that journey. If we get this right, we can build a bus network that connects every part of Cumbria – from our towns and villages to our coast and countryside – and ensures that no community is left behind.
It’s time to bring our buses back under local control, and make public transport in Cumbria something we can all rely on and be proud of once again.
Josh MacAlister MP 