Connecting Communities - Building a Transport Network Fit for the 21st Century

Submitted by: 10 members.
Mover: Wera Hobhouse MP (Spokesperson for Energy, Climate Change and Transport).
Summation: Baroness Randerson (Lords Spokesperson for Transport).

Conference notes with concern that:

1. Road transport contributes the greatest proportion of UK emissions (24%).
2. Bus fares across England have risen by 89% since 2005, while rail fares rose by 3.8% in 2022 and 5.9% in 2023 - the biggest rise since 2012, meanwhile fuel duty has been frozen since 2010 and air passenger duty has been cut on internal flights.
3. The government is committed to spending £24 billion on new roads.
4. Almost a quarter of bus routes have been cut in the last ten years outside London, while rail passenger levels have only just recovered to their pre-pandemic levels.
5. Despite promises to establish Great British Railways (GBR) to manage the railway's day-to-day operation the government is dragging its feet.
6. Rail electrification is at a standstill, with just 101 miles (162.5 km) of track due to be electrified this year with new lines such East-West Rail not being electrified as standard.
7. The government does not have a plan to replace the revenue from fuel taxes as more people buy electric vehicles.

Conference believes that:

1. Buses are one of the most accessible and affordable modes of public transport and are often relied upon by the very poorest as well as the old and the young.
2. Providing bus, tram and rail links boosts local economies and enables people to access a wider range of local services.
3. Buses are the easiest form of public transport to introduce, improve and expand because they require minimal infrastructure investment, especially when compared to trains or trams.
4. Rapidly improving bus and rail services is essential if the UK is to reduce CO2 emissions and cut air pollution, but decarbonisation is happening far too slowly.
5. The railways should be a green and environmentally friendly option for passengers and freight.
6. Within an Integrated Transport Strategy there remain, in some locations, opportunities for expanding the use of light rail (trams and tram trains) a form of green mass transport with less costly infrastructure than heavy rail.
7. The rail ticketing system is outdated and does not reflect the needs of passengers in the 21st century.

Conference reaffirms pledges in the Liberal Democrat 2019 manifesto to:

1. Give new powers and funding to local authorities and communities to improve transport in their areas, including the ability to introduce network-wide ticketing, as in London.
2. Support rural bus services and encourage alternatives to conventional bus services where they are not viable.
3. Fix the railway's broken fares and ticketing system so that it provides better value for money.
4. Improve the experience of people who rely on the railways for work by investing in commuter routes and the integration of rail, bus, tram and cycle routes and improve disabled access to public transport via the Access for All programme.
5. Be far more proactive in sanctioning and ultimately sacking train operators if they fail to provide a high-quality public service to their customers.

Conference calls on the Government to:

1. Temporarily maintain the £2 cap on bus fares while fares are reviewed, including ensuring that bus operators and local authorities are not left out of pocket from bus fares, reviewing reimbursement rates for concessionary fares and that all fare revenue is reinvested in bus services.
2. Freeze rail fares until the end of the next parliament and introduce new incentive schemes to encourage people to travel by rail.
3. Give all local authorities greater powers and resources to franchise bus services and simplify the franchise application system and reverse the ban on local authorities setting up their own bus companies.
4. Extend half-fares on buses, trams and trains to 18 year-olds, allowing them to continue receiving half-fares while still in full time education.
5. Introduce a 'Young Person's Buscard' also available for use on trams, similar to the Young Person's Railcard, for 19 to 25 year olds giving them a third off bus and tram fares.
6. Support the development of innovative rural schemes for bus services.
7. Urgently establish the new Great British Railways before the next election to act as a "guiding mind" for the railway, ensuring that the needs of passengers and freight are put first, while abolishing the rail regulator.
8. Ensure that new rail timetables are focused on passenger needs rather than the interests of the rail operating company, with an emphasis on connectivity between buses, trams and trains.
9. Abandon current government-mandated proposals to close ticket offices at railway stations.
10. Establish a ten-year plan for rail electrification to increase the number of passenger journeys covered by electric trains prioritising freight routes in the first five years to move more freight to rail.
11. Ensure all new railway lines are electrified as standard, including East West Rail.
12. Mandate and ensure all new builds include lift and ramp access from both platform to transport and platform to street; where possible the retrofitting of lifts should be funded.
13. Redirect some of the £24 billion road building budget towards investing in public transport and funding councils to maintain existing roads, including repairing potholes.
14. Reverse the government cuts to the active travel budget and introduce a nationwide strategy to promote walking and cycling, including the creation of dedicated safe cycling lanes.
15. Give all local councils, metro mayors and combined authorities which do not already have them the powers to pilot innovative schemes to increase public transport usage and reduce congestion, including the ability to heavily discount public transport fares or make them free – learning from successful schemes introduced in European cities such as Tallinn and Zlin.
16. Explore the introduction of an annual pass covering all public transport in a region or across the country for a one-off fee.
17. Explore a new system to replace revenue from fuel duty which is fair and based on how often people drive, while recognising the needs of rural and remote communities.

Applicability: England only; except 7. (lines 79-82) and 13. (lines 100-102), which are Federal.

Amendments

Drafting

The FCC has agreed to make the following drafting amendment to the motion:

In ii) (line 27), after ‘bus’ insert ‘, tram.

After v) (line 37), insert:

vi)      Within an Integrated Transport Strategy there remain, in some locations, opportunities for expanding the use of light rail (trams and tram trains) a form of green mass transport with less costly infrastructure than heavy rail.

In d) (line 52), after ‘bus’ insert ‘, tram’.

In 4. (line 71), after ‘buses’ insert ‘, trams’.

In 11. (Line 73), before ‘the £24 billion’ insert ‘some of’.

In 5. (line 74), after ‘Young Person’s Buscard’ insert ‘also available for use on trams’.

In 5. (line 76), after ‘bus’ insert ‘and tram’.

In 8. (line 85), after ‘buses’ insert ‘, trams’.

Amendment One

PASSED

Submitted by: Liberal Democrat Disability Association
Mover: Katharine Macy. 
Summation: Lucy Tonge.

After 10. (line 92), insert:

11.    Mandate and ensure all new builds include lift and ramp access from both platform to transport and platform to street; where possible the retrofitting of lifts should be funded.

Amendment Two

PASSED

Submitted by: Cambridge
Mover: Cllr Amanda Taylor. 
Summation: Cllr Pippa Heylings.

After 8. (line 86), insert:

9.       Abandon current government-mandated proposals to close ticket offices at railway stations.

Amendment Three

PASSED

Submitted by: 10 members
Mover: Cllr Lisa Smart.   
Summation: Cllr Sam Al-Hamdani.

After 12. (line 99), insert:

13.    Give all local councils, metro mayors and combined authorities which do not already have them the powers to pilot innovative schemes to increase public transport usage and reduce congestion, including the ability to heavily discount public transport fares or make them free – learning from successful schemes introduced in European cities such as Tallinn and Zlin.

14.    Explore the introduction of an annual pass covering all public transport in a region or across the country for a one-off fee.