Celebrating transformation in the bus sector

Management Consultancy Association Awards 2024

It’s not often we get to celebrate buses outside the sector, so we were delighted that Arup’s work with the Department for Transport (DfT) was recognised as ‘Highly Commended’ at the recent Management Consultancy Association (MCA) awards.

Arup has been working with the Bus Reform team at the DfT since late 2021, transforming an aspiration in the National Bus Strategy and over £1bn of funding into delivery of bus service improvements across 79 Local Transport Authorities in England.

As transport professionals, we are passionate about sustainable transport and understand that good local bus services are essential for vibrant, prosperous, and sustainable communities. They connect people to jobs, customers to businesses, provide access to education and essential services, promote social inclusion, and reduce the environmental impact of transport. However, they face challenges, including a post-Covid decline in bus usage.

With clear objectives set by the DfT, Arup has supported a transformation in the sector. We initially assessed 76 Bus Service Improvement Plans to secure funding for local authorities. Alongside the DfT, we deployed Relationship Managers to all authorities to provide guidance and support the implementation of Enhanced Partnership arrangements and delivery of improvement schemes.

Recognising the need for capability building in the sector, we worked with the DfT and the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) to set up the Bus Centre of Excellence, now thriving under Stelios Rodoulis’ leadership. We leveraged insights from our Relationship Managers to understand sector capability and develop bespoke support packages and toolkits aimed at boosting capability and increasing bus patronage.

The programme has provided us with valuable insights into the demands on the DfT team from ministers and the Treasury, particularly during recent political turbulence. It has been encouraging to see buses at the top of the national political agenda, and we expect this to continue under our new Secretary of State, Louise Haigh.

We have also observed the challenges faced at the local level in delivering bus improvements. Local authority officers often manage multiple roles, elected members must balance support for buses with other local priorities, and bus operators managing tough commercial conditions.

But despite these challenges, we have started to see success on the ground. For example, our monitoring and reporting has shown over 100,000 more trips on bus services in Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole; a 28% increase in passenger numbers in West Yorkshire; a 16% increase in bus passenger numbers in Norfolk; and more early and late bus services for the people of Portsmouth. These improvements are supported by the delivery of bus infrastructure, such as bus priority lanes in North Somerset and passenger information boards in York and West Sussex.

One heart-warming story from a site visit to Telford and Wrekin highlighted the impact of these improvements. A new service providing access to jobs at a warehousing site for shift workers helped one user save enough money by switching from taxis to buses to save for a house deposit – what a great outcome!

While I had the pleasure of receiving this commendation with my colleague, Kate Fairhall, and Carl Sutcliffe from the DfT, I would like to dedicate it to everyone in ‘Generation Bus’ working hard to deliver bus improvements across England. The scale of change we aim to achieve can only be delivered by everyone working together, and we are proud to play our part in this ongoing transformation of the bus sector.

Find out more here: Arup with the Department for Transport - MCA

Stephen Bennett
Director, Transport Consulting, Arup

Stephen is a chartered transport planning and policy specialist with extensive experience in the leadership of major transport programmes and a strong focus on decarbonisation. He leads Arup’s Transport Consulting team based in London and is Transport Decarbonisation Lead for the UK region. He is a Fellow of both the CIHT and CILT, and he is passionate about buses!