Below is a BBC News list of what the manifestos of the main political parties are offering us in the forthcoming 2019 general election when it comes to transport.
HS2 will do nothing for the East Midlands or most of the Derby-Nottingham conurbation. It will not lower journey times door-to-door because of the time people will spend getting to Toton (e.g. 34 minutes by tram from the Nottingham city centre plus more minutes to get to the HS2 station) and I am one of those, should I still be alive when its completed, who will benefit, living in Beeston as I do. However, I am still against HS2.
The Greens want to upgrade the capacity of the existing railway network and electrify all railway lines and, quite simply, want to give local authorities control of local bus services. All too often good policies get lost in the detail and the Greens seem to understand this better than the other three main parties.
The Conservatives promise hardly any money for buses, only £220m over 5 years and a ‘superbus network’ (this link might help explain the aim). What we need are regular daily services operated by good quality buses serving neighbourhoods and local town centres, not just inter-urban main roads, if more car users are to be persuaded to use buses.
Labour will extend free bus travel to all under-25s ‘where routes are run by councils’ and 'restore 3,000 bus routes' and promise 'more local control'. How much more they don't say? Nottingham City Council own Nottingham City Transport, an ‘arms length’ company, so will they qualify to provide free bus travel to all under-25s and will it just be within the Nottingham City Council boundary? Then there is what happens to Trent-Barton bus services? Surely, it is not Labour's intention to penalise a well loved excellent private bus company? You see what I mean about a seemingly good policy getting lost in the detail and, perhaps most important of all, the policy will not be fair to all under-25s.
And the Liberals are vague. The problems buses face in England cannot be solved with money alone. Government money means Government control. The Greens understand that. It’s about local control at the end of the day. What’s right for Nottingham and Beeston in a conurbation will be different in rural areas and small towns.
The choice between the main parties is stark. If the Conservatives win things will stay much the same in Greater Nottingham (we already have bus lanes and inter-urban 'superbuses' in the form of the Red Arrow and a few others), and whilst Labour and the Liberals promise lots of money, the Greens promise unambiguous local control.
On Thursday 12 December 2019 you get to choose.
Click on the lists below to enlarge:
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