Transport Committee to visit Liverpool to hear about health of bus services

Members of the House of Commons Transport Committee will visit Liverpool next Monday (Janury 14) to hear about bus services in the area.

In a public evidence session, MPs will question representatives from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and two bus companies, Arriva and Stagecoach, on how services are developed and run in the city through the Liverpool City Region Bus Alliance.

The Committee will also ask about fares and funding, workforce conditions and what is being done to increase bus use.

The trip will inform the cross-party committee’s inquiry into the health of the bus market, which is examining how services are run in England outside London amid a sharp decline in usage over the past 25 years.

Bus travel accounts for almost eight out of 10 public transport journeys in Merseyside.

Passenger numbers have fallen since the start of the decade, although they are now coming back up from a downward trend.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram launched a consultation on how to improve services in October and responses to the ‘Big Bus Debate’ are currently being analysed.

The session will be followed by a question and answer period, at 4pm, offering members of the public the opportunity to ask about the Transport Committee’s work and the role of Parliament.

The meeting is the fourth evidence session in the buses inquiry.

The Committee has previously visited Leicester and Bristol to hear the views of passengers and local authorities.

Committee members scheduled to attend the visit, at Merseytravel’s Mann Island headquarters, are Lilian Greenwood (chair), Ruth Cadbury, Huw Merriman, Grahame Morris, and Graham Stringer.