Public transport is the backbone of our towns, cities and regions - enabling us to visit family and friends or to give us access to our job, retail, and leisure opportunities. For too long, the system has been broken and, unsurprisingly the source of many of the complaints I receive from frustrated constituents. Rail services in Bolton South and Walkden have been plagued by chaos for years, Kearsley station continues to be ranked as one of the worst in the country.
Bus services into and out of the town centre were significantly reduced. Then, disappointingly, Bolton was excluded from talks on a Metrolink tram service. Last week, at Labour Party conference, I was relieved and thrilled to hear the new Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh confirm that she has already started work on fixing the country’s transport network.
After years of dysfunction, disruption, and decline in the railway system, the very first Bill laid before Parliament by our new government is set to bring the railways back into public ownership. Meanwhile, here in Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham has worked tirelessly to bring public transport back into the hands of the public and very soon we will have local rail forming part of the Bee Network alongside buses and trams. Bolton was the birthplace of the Bee Network, with the first publicly run bus in almost 40 years leaving Bolton this time last year.
For me, it was a source of pride to hear King Charles read the announcement of the ‘Better Buses Bill’ du.