Among the worst-served areas for rural transport, a House of Commons inquiry hears that failing bus networks are widening social inequality.
For rural Dorset, public transport isn’t just inconvenient – it’s non-existent. Villages once served by regular buses now sit isolated, residents struggling to reach jobs, schools and healthcare. Those without a car face impossible commutes, rising costs, or a growing sense of being left behind.
A House of Commons Transport Committee hearing on 26th February laid bare the stark reality of failing rural public transport networks, exposing the deepening link between poverty and poor transport access.
Among the witnesses was Silviya Barrett from Campaign for Better Transport, who identified Dorset as one of the worst-affected areas in the country: ‘The places that were specifically poorly connected in the north-east were Northumberland and County Durham; and Dorset and Devon in the south-west,’ she told MPs.
No Buses, No Opportunities
In Dorset’s rural villages and market towns, the decline in public transport is widening social inequality. Low-income families, young people, and older residents without access to a car find themselves increasingly trapped – unable to reach work, education or essential services.
Paul Milner from CPRE, the countryside charity, described the growing transport poverty across rural England. ‘I see huge amounts of rural housing development, many with much-needed socially affordable housing elements. But why are we building houses in places for people who cannot afford cars, in places where there are no buses or train services?’ he asked.
His concerns were echoed by Professor Karen Lucas, an expert in transport-related social exclusion: ‘There is definitely a joint issue around social deprivation and poor public transport. Those two things are absolutely linked.’
The collapse of rural bus services has not happened by accident. According to Stephen Frost, Head of Transport Policy at the Institute for Public Policy Research, government policy over the last decade has prioritised cars over public transport – a move that has pushed more people into car ownership and hollowed out rural bus networks. The Government asked ‘Where do we predict that we are going to need more capacity?’ and decided it is in cars, it is in road expansion, and it is therefore making places more attractive to reach by car.’
But this shift away from public transport creates a vicious cycle.
‘As people then buy cars because those places become more attractive, it undermines the viability of public transport, which is then removed from villages and towns, and people increasingly move out of those villages and towns, as do services and other things, towards more urban areas,’ Frost said.
The impact is then felt most by the lowest-paid.
‘Badly affected are low-paid workers, especially shift workers and non-paid carers, because they have a lot of travel responsibilities for escorting their children and other people around,’ said Karen Lucas ‘Young people not in employment, education and training see the cost and especially availability of transport as a barrier to them taking up any of those activities: and
particularly low-income households with children.’
For shift workers in Dorset’s tourism and hospitality industries, irregular bus services mean long, expensive commutes or missed work opportunities. Meanwhile, carers and parents juggling multiple responsibilities find their travel time and costs spiralling out of control.
We know it makes sense
Beyond the social cost of lost bus services, the committee also discussed the economic damage caused by poor transport links.
‘There is much evidence on the economic benefit of buses, particularly by the Confederation of Passenger Transport,’ Silviya Barrett said. ‘Public transport, specifically buses, produces much higher returns on investment compared with road investment. For buses, it is a return of £4.55 for every £1 spent, whereas road investment it can be as low as £1.10 or even a negative value for money if we take the full externalities of road schemes.’
This means that investing in buses provides better economic returns than road expansion, reducing congestion and boosting local economies by
making it easier for people to reach work, education, and businesses.
The committee also heard that improved bus services help keep money in rural areas, rather than funnelling wealth into larger urban centres.
‘Local buses help to spread growth,’ Barrett explained. ‘Rather than attracting all investment to the centre of cities, they support local economies in the suburbs and in towns, where people can make shorter local journeys and spend in their local economy instead.’
Despite this, rural bus services continue to be cut, while investment in roads and car infrastructure remains the priority. Without a fundamental shift in funding, Dorset’s rural economy will remain constrained – and those without a car will continue to be left behind.
Every Village, Every Hour
One solution discussed by CPRE’s Paul Milner was the Every Village, Every Hour scheme, which would guarantee a minimum rural bus service to prevent entire communities from being cut off.
In Switzerland, every village of at least 300 people is guaranteed an hourly bus service from 6am to midnight, seven days a week. It is successful, with hugh occupancy and low subsidies. Switzerland, unlike the UK, is prepared to spend more on rural public transport due to the cultural importance of rural villages, and a tradition of using subsidies which are “justified as political acts of solidarity” to equalise service provision across cantons**.
The CPRE believe that limited public transport in rural areas isn’t a given, or a natural side-effect of living in the countryside.
Silviya Barrett also argued that buses should not be an afterthought: ‘Buses are an essential public service. They need to be treated as such and they need to be funded as such.’
You need buses for fares
The hearing discussed the impact of the recent fare cap increase from £2 to £3, with concerns raised about affordability in urban areas. However, Silviya Barrett noted that ‘in rural areas, £3 can still be very good value compared to the prices there might have been before.’
But as Dorset residents know all too well, an affordable capped fare means nothing if there isn’t a bus to use it on.
Without urgent investment in rural bus networks, communities will remain cut off—isolated not by distance, but by a failing system that leaves those who cannot afford a car with no options at all.
*Full transcript available here
**ScienceDirect – Watching the Swiss
