Bus services across the East Midlands (outside Nottingham, where the main bus operator is owned by the Council), are in crisis.

We’ve seen a vicious circle of decline ever since our buses were deregulated in 1986, with cuts to vital services.

This has left many people across our region locked out of jobs and opportunities, unable to visit friends or family, or forced to buy cars.

Now finally we have the chance to turn this around.

Mayors of Combined Authorities can take our buses back into public control. This will mean:

·       Bus routes planned to serve our communities’ needs and to connect seamlessly with trains.

·       Improvements in bus frequency and reliability.

·       Reduced fares and one simple, affordable ticket across all buses – like Greater Manchester is now doing.

The next few years are crucial. The government has committed to making reregulation of buses easier for Mayors. The Mayor needs to start the process of assessing the business case and consulting on reregulation of buses so that she can deliver it before her term ends in 2028. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to end the chaos caused by bus deregulation and ensure that public money is used to provide the services that we need.

We call on the leaders of the East Midlands’ Councils to support the Mayor to take our region’s buses back into public control.

Why is this important?

Our expensive, unreliable and uncoordinated public transport network is holding us back – it’s a disaster for our economy, society and our environment.

Transport is by far the biggest contributor to carbon emissions: mostly from private cars.

These pressing climate targets will be impossible to meet without a total transformation of our public transport network so that – no matter where you live in our region – you can get around easily without needing to own a car.

As Greater Manchester has clearly shown, this transformation can only be delivered by taking our buses back into public control.

Petition by Better Buses East Midlands, part of the East Midlands Combined Authority Coalition