Building with buses

The disjointed nature of bus planning has, I see, reached a nadir in Devon, where justifiable fears have been raised about the lack of bus services planned for 2,500 new homes. At the same time, the council is saying they cannot afford to subsidise any more bus services, but is being urged to take the franchising route.

The good news, I think, is that buses appear to have been raised up the political agenda and are now part of the debate. The bad news is that, because they have been relegated to AOB in the past, it’s all a bit of a learning curve for some councils. It’s a curriculum that begins with urban planning, which has for too long assumed everyone has a car or can afford taxis. South Devon is not alone in seeing a house-building boom but, in common with most areas, one which doesn’t plan for bus services.

Creating roadspace and boarding points for buses should be as fundamental as laying sewerage. It should be at the absolute core of any new housing or industrial development, and on the national statute not as a ‘consideration,’ as it is now, but a mandate. There is a huge development in my home city which is completely inaccessible by a full-sized bus, and hundreds like it across the UK. This must stop.

Mobility should be seen as a human right, councils compelled to understand the needs of bus services and to force developers to build around bus arterial roads which leave nobody with more than a five-minute walk to a bus stop. When buses are at the core of communities, they are more likely to be used, and if they are used, there is less likelihood that they will require subsidy. Any Labour government worthy of the name should be creating this principle as a matter of urgency, before we isolate the young, the elderly and those with disabilities in their homes.

Devon Council is not alone in being cash-strapped. It spends £13.5m on bus subsidy and doesn’t want that bill to rise. Well, franchising won’t resolve that problem; in fact, it will cost even more. So here’s my fag-packet plan for Devon County Council. You have 352,000 households paying council tax. Add a £40 buses precept to the council tax bill (76p a week) to raise £14m, spend half on bus priority measures each year, and half on creating more services via enhanced partnerships to take advantage of them.

Over ensuing years, the bill for bus subsidy will drop, allowing you to spend more money on bus priority and create a virtuous spiral of improvement.

No need to pay me £500,000 for this consultancy service; just thank me later.