Professor Peter White, Emeritus Professor at Westminster’s School of Architecture + Cities, was quoted in a BBC article, titled Bus Cuts: The UK’s Hidden Transport Crisis – Seen from the Number 16 Bus.
The article discusses the problems regular people experience due to bus cancellations in rural areas, and how the issue affects their community and the UK on a larger scale.
According to a BBC analysis the article has referred to, in the decade to 2019, Britain's bus network lost 134 million miles of coverage, leaving half a million homes without regular buses.
Interviewees talk about their reasons for using public transport, and share their stories on cases when cancellations left them stranded, forcing them to change their jobs or means of transport.
The piece also points out the difference between London’s bus services supplied by Transport for London (TFL), and rural services by Stagecoach, the UK’s biggest bus firm.
According to White, London's bus passengers can enjoy “a markedly better level of service” compared with other parts of the country.
“There is a very good level of service late nights, evenings and Sundays, whereas even in other big cities, the frequencies are often quite low, and in rural areas they often almost non-existent,” said White.
Talking about the BBC article, White added: “It is worth noting though that Stagecoach’s demand in rural areas such as that between Perth and Dundee would be much lower, and buses are running under the deregulated framework with much less support than in London.”
Read the full article on the BBC’s website.
