A 'Beeching of the buses' and slow exit of Pacer trains price of Whitehall power grip, say campaigners

There remains a lack of devolution of transport budgets and powers and this will lead to a 'Beeching of the buses' and rail-overcrowding, the Campaign for Better Transport says.

In The Yorkshire Post, Colin Speakman, of the CBT, writes that with the General Election in May, there have been "glittering promises" for the region, ranging from the replacement of the region's 30-year-old crowded Pacer trains, rail electrification and new funds for highway maintenance. 

But he maintains: "Looking behind the vote-grabbing headlines, the position isn't quite as rosy. As no UK manufacturer is currently building new diesel multiple-unit trains, old Pacers will be around for some years to come... as passenger numbers soar. The DfT's solution to overcrowded trains is to price passengers off by banning off-peak day tickets on late-afternoon Northern trains."

"Top of the 2015 wishlist must be the devolution of decision-making on transport investment priorities and fares away from Whitehall to elected representatives in our region. Things may begin to change when the two former PTEs, now part of new combined authorities, are more closely integrated with their local enterprise partnerships to create new powerful regional bodies."

"Regional funding is desperately needed for the most heavily-used but least well-funded transport mode, the bus. I believe 2015 could see a 'Beeching of the buses' in Yorkshire. North Yorkshire County Council's [has] proposals to refuse senior pass payments for the highly successful DalesBus and MoorsBus networks... with further cuts in the pipeline, by 2016 the Dales and Moors could lose almost all scheduled bus services."

"What is urgently needed in 2015 is for the new Combined Authorities to assume control of cross-boundary bus services into their cash-starved rural hinterland."