In its 10 Year Plan for Transport in 20002, the government set a target to increase the number of passenger journeys on buses in England by 10 per cent by 2010, while at the same time improving the punctuality and reliability of bus services. The government sought to reverse a decline in bus use experienced over the previous 40 years both before and since deregulation of bus services through the Transport Act 1985, which resulted in commercial operators providing bus services, in some cases with financial support from local authorities.
The Government has attributed the decline in bus use primarily to rising economic prosperity, leading to increased car ownership, alongside a steady increase in the cost of travelling by bus relative to the cost of motoring.
The Department for Transport (the Department) has revised the target twice in 2002, and again in 2004 and now aims to secure a combined increase in passenger numbers on buses and light rail of more than 12 per cent by 2010 compared with 2000 levels, with the additional challenge of achieving growth in every region. The underlying rationale is to improve the availability of public transport as a means of tackling social exclusion, and contribute to the government's wider transport objectives of tackling road traffic congestion and reducing vehicle emissions that contribute to climate change.
This study, undertaken by the Audit Commission and the National Audit Office examines the roles of central and local government in funding, procuring, regulating or otherwise supporting the provision of bus services and assesses whether the delivery chains are fit for the purpose of delivering growth in bus use cost-effectively.