Arriva - Comment on the introduction of the Bus Services Bill

“Arriva’s focus is on increasing passenger numbers through providing reliable, high quality and value for money bus services. Effective partnerships with local government have proven to increase bus usage by helping to make bus travel an even more attractive choice for passengers and by helping to tackle barriers to growth.

“We have conducted in-depth research amongst bus-users and non-users to understand and address those barriers. This research shows that passengers want a reliable service, faster journey times, modern vehicles, simpler ticketing and new technology - and Arriva has responded with our industry-leading app, providing open data to Google, free Wi-Fi on all new buses, e-ticketing, refreshed networks and new vehicle investment.

“Across the country, effective partnership working is already delivering investment in passenger-focused services, helping to increase bus usage and encourage people out of their cars.

“Research from Greener Journeys, shows that congestion is one of the biggest barriers to greater bus usage. With journey times increasing by 10% per decade, operators and local government must work together now more than ever to identify bus priority measures, and invest to tackle congestion.

“We strongly believe that effective partnerships between bus operators and local government are the way forward to grow passenger numbers. We look forward to working with all parties to help make bus travel an even more attractive choice.”