Reading, the biggest town.

Main idea: Better and more frequent service

Buses are the most commonly used form of public transport in England - yet in recent years routes have been disappearing at an alarming rate.

One area bucking the national trend is Reading. The town - 40 miles to the west of London - was hit by Covid restrictions like everywhere else but the number of journeys on local bus services had been on the rise before the pandemic too. Reading is one of only five areas in England where the local bus company is owned by the council.

“You have local people that live and breathe the area, running the services and working out what should happen. It's not a central head office, hundreds of miles away.” It also means that if the council puts money into things like bus lanes it sees a direct return - better services, more passengers and higher revenue from fares which can then be reinvested.

If it wins power, Labour says it would give all areas the same opportunity to introduce franchising as metro mayors, as well as allowing councils and regional mayors to set up their own bus companies.

Was just chatting about them recently with a a mate who lives in London. I've long held that PFI has almost universally sucked - over and over again - but Reading Buses are an (the?) exception.

Listed off their initiatives, features and service and his mind was blown. Even with the changes north of the river to routes 22-24, it's still really good. It's a low bar, sure, but RB are doing something right.