Buses might not sound like a very sexy subject, but it’s an important one for UNISON. That’s not just because members work within the bus sector, but because most UNISON members are women, and bus transport is a gendered issue.
Across the UK, women and men use public transport differently. According to a 2019 briefing by the UK Women’s Budget Group, in England, women made over a third more bus journeys than men.
In Scotland and Wales, the data suggested that the difference was around the same, though there was a much narrower difference in Northern Ireland.
Poor public transport contributes to inequality in a number of ways. It can make it harder to find work, for instance, especially when women don’t have access to a car.
It can affect carers – who are overwhelmingly women. UNISON has consistently worked to ensure that those working in social care are paid for their travel time, but this is not universal in the sector and effectively adds to the gender pay gap.
No replacement for bus services
Austerity and huge cuts to local government saw funding for buses in England and Wales cut by 33% between 2010 and 2019 – and by almost £30m in 2016-17 alone – according to The Campaign for Better Transport. That latter figure translates into 500 routes being reduced or withdrawn completely.
In 2018, the BBC found that there had been a loss of 134m miles of bus routes in a decade, with the North East of England worst affected.
The privatised nature of much of the UK’s bus provision means that companies can change or close routes without any consultation or consideration for what is socially necessary. Much of the funding that was available for bus services was used to subsidise ‘unprofitable’ routes.
In January, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) North reported that people in the most deprived areas of England have suffered disproportionately larger cuts to bus services than those in better off parts of the country.
This translates into the 10 most deprived areas suffering a tenfold reduction in the distance travelled by bus per person than those in the 10 least deprived areas.
The report estimates that if services hadn’t fallen between 2011 and 2023, there would have been a further 395m miles of bus provision in England – which also translated into an estimated 1.1bn extra miles driven in cars and taxis.
Next stop: publicly owned buses
Action to improve the situation can come through the government’s Buses Bill, which could allow control of services to be put back into local authority hands.
In Greater Manchester, Labour mayor Andy Burnham started the process in autumn 2023, launching the Bee Network to create an integrated public transport system that combines buses and trams. The final routes were brought into the scheme at the beginning of this year.
Dr Maya Singer Hobbs, a senior research fellow at IPPR North, told the Guardian: “Franchising is already delivering better services for people in Greater Manchester, but it was an uphill battle to get there.” She urged the government to “get on board with better buses and support local leaders on this journey”.
Across the Pennines in West Yorkshire, Labour mayor Tracy Brabin has committed to the same approach.
UNISON doesn’t have members who drive normal service buses, but does have members who drive door-to-door services and those that transport special educational needs and disabled children, together with members who work in administrative roles, across the country.
Pam Sian is chair of UNISON’s water, transport and environment service group executive, and also the branch convenor and secretary of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Transport Branch.
“It’s good to have buses back into public ownership – they should never have gone into private ownership,” she says.
“Obviously we need to have the passenger numbers go up again, and the mayor’s fares are helping with that. In West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin is only putting the fares up to £2.50 rather than £3.”
Ms Sian stresses the need to keep fares down, particularly as users are “predominantly women and children, and some of them are part-time workers who probably aren’t on great wages because they are part-time.”
Safe for all
For UNISON, there’s also the issue of safety – particularly in terms of women and girls. This can mean things like ensuring that bus stops and stations are safe and well lit. In Leeds, the authority is thinking of re-introducing a late-night, women-only service at the weekend.
Consultation is vital. Having worked for a team set up to engage with the public, Ms Sian explains: “Whenever there was going to be a change to services, we’d go out and consult the public and say: ‘These are the changes we’re proposing to do – what do you think?’
“It’s surprising how many people would say: ‘Well if you take that service off, I can’t get to work on time, my children can’t get to school on time’. ”
“People are mostly bothered about are they [the buses] on time, are they reliable and are they going to run when I need them to run,” she adds. “We need to look at what our passengers, our customers on the ground, need.”
Ms Sian points out that bringing buses back into public ownership will allow more control over those sort of things, as it wouldn’t “all be about shareholders.”
More widely, UNISON is part of the group of trade unions that is talking to the Department of Transport about the Buses Bill and Ms Sian is closely involved, together with national officer Mary Onafalujo.
Protecting the workers
The unions want the bill to make clear that any job termination for a reason connected to the introduction or transfer of a franchise will automatically be classed as an unfair dismissal.
They also want it to ensure that there will be no worsening of bus workers’ terms and conditions upon any transfer, and that any new staff taken on after transfer will not be employed on worse terms and conditions.
Furthermore, the unions want legislation to ensure that any local transport authority (LTA) should establish a joint forum with operators and unions to address staffing and employment matters across the franchising area.They are also calling for LTAs to be able to directly award contracts to local authority bus companies without a competitive process.
But as Manchester has shown, bringing services back in-house brings big dividends – not just in terms of reliability and protection of routes, but also in terms of safety.
As Mr Burnham told UNISON: “We do not tolerate gender-based violence on our network and are absolutely committed to tackling abuse, harm and violation in any form, so that everyone can use the Bee Network confidently and safely.
“We have more staff than ever on the network, including TravelSafe and Enforcement Officers (TSEOs), a control room that operates 24/7 and, through the Bee Network app, passengers can report incidents quickly and discreetly to a police call handler at the touch of a button.
“TSEO deployments on our first night bus pilots are also helping to provide safer travel for passengers throughout the night.
“We are working with StrutSafe UK – a UK-wide phone line whose volunteers stay on the phone to keep people company when they’re walking alone, helping them to feel safe until they are through the door.
“And our recent Active Bystander campaign encouraged people travelling on public transport in Greater Manchester to safely support one another when confronted with harassment or unwanted sexual behaviours.”
The Buses Bill can only help improve matters further.