§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what measures he is taking to encourage more people to use public transport; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has to encourage the use of(a) bus and (b) rail public transport.
§ Mr. FreemanThe best way of encouraging greater use of public transport is to promote increased choice for passengers and increased competition for the provision of public transport services. The Government's policies of deregulation and privatisation will help to achieve these objectives. We are also continuing to make resources available for high levels of investment by those public transport operators who remain in the public sector; the autumn statement provided for expenditure of some £2 billion a year on public transport over the next three years. We have also made increased resources available this year to enable local authorities to help local bus services through bus priority measures. I look forward to further proposals from local authorities in their transport policy and plans bids later this year. My Department also has a programme of research on city congestion charging, one of whose possible benefits would be to influence people's travel choices and improve the competitive position of public transport.