Alistair Strathern MP pledges to deliver better bus services for our towns and villages

Alistair Strathern MP, Labour's candidate for the new Hitchin constituency, has celebrated Labour's transformative plans to deliver better bus services across Hitchin and the surrounding towns and villages, after listening to the concerns from local communities.

Hertfordshire made the top ten most badly cut Local Transport Authorities in England - with Labour underlining buses in our area have faced significant cuts, meaning many who rely on them are left isolated.

In Hertfordshire, bus services have nearly been halved since 2010, with buses driving 9.04 million fewer miles per year in 2023 when compared with 2010 figures – a reduction of 47%.

Mr Strathern - who is currently MP for Mid Bedfordshire since winning the by-election in 2023 - said: "After fourteen years of Conservative failure bus services in Hitchin and Hertfordshire have been driven into the ground.  

"Buses are a lifeline to people here, particularly in our more rural towns and villages.

"But the sad reality is far too often local services just can't be relied on by those who need them, and poorly planned routes mean many end up feeling trapped and isolated in their own community 

"Labour will call time on the broken bus system that is making is difficult for people to access essential services like GPs, Post Offices and Dentists and holding people back from being able to take up new opportunities.

"Labour's plan for better buses will give us here in Hitchin the power to take back control of our bus services, and will support us here in delivering better buses, faster. 

Labour's plan could mean up to 139 vital bus routes created or saved and 22 million more passenger journeys per year across the East of England compared to today's failed system. 

Labour say their plan will also see better buses delivered faster, with the franchising process done in as little as two years, compared to the six-year slog some face due to unnecessary barriers imposed by central government.

Since buses were deregulated in 1985, bus services outside London have collapsed, with: 

• 1.5 billion fewer annual bus journeys in 2019 than in 1985
• Almost 300 million fewer miles driven by buses per year since 2010
• Thousands of bus services cut since 2010

Labour say where bus franchising is in place, such as in London and Manchester, buses have thrived. Greater Manchester has improved reliability and significantly grown passenger numbers less than a year after bus franchising went live. 

Labour has announced it will pass new legislation to support local transport authorities to take back control of their bus services and has set out a five-point plan to deliver better buses, including: 

1. Empower local transport authorities and reform funding: by giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding and allowing them to plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. 

2. Allow every community to take back control of their buses: by removing barriers that currently limit bus franchising powers only to metropolitan mayors. 

3. Accelerate the bus franchising process: by supporting local leaders to deliver better buses, faster. 

4. Step in to safeguard local bus networks: by providing more accountability over bus operators and ensuring standards are raised wherever you live across the country. 

5. Support public ownership: by removing the Conservatives' ideological ban on publicly owned bus companies and building on the success of award-winning public bus services still in operation. 

Labour say, as an MP, Mr Strathern has already taken action to fight for improvements in local bus services affecting local towns and villages.

Working with local councils, his action has meant that vital parts of that route which would have lost a bus service altogether still have access to a bus. 

Read Hitchin Nub News for our forthcoming in-depth coverage of the General Election once we have a date for the most crucial nationwide polls in a generation.

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