Bus Reform Without Safety Reform? What the FOI Documents Reveal

Britain is currently in the middle of the most significant overhaul of bus policy in decades.

Across the country, Combined Authorities and Local Transport Authorities are exploring franchising, Enhanced Partnerships, new governance structures and new delivery models.

Millions of pounds are being invested into studies, pilots and reform programmes designed to reshape how bus services operate.

But a fundamental question remains largely unanswered:

Where does safety sit within all of this reform?

Recent Freedom of Information responses obtained during my research into bus safety governance raise a serious concern.

While authorities are investing significant effort into redesigning how bus networks are funded, managed and contracted, there appears to be no equivalent workstream addressing how safety incidents are investigated, how lessons are learned, or how safety data will be shared transparently with the public and the industry.

What The FOI Documents Show

Documents released through FOI requests relating to the Government’s Franchising and Bus Reform Pilot Programme reveal the scale of the work currently underway.

Cornwall Council, for example, is participating in a Department for Transport pilot study exploring future bus delivery models.

The pilot includes work on:

• feasibility studies
• commercial modelling
• procurement strategies
• governance frameworks
• stakeholder engagement
• market engagement with operators

The purpose of the programme is to test different approaches to bus network delivery, including franchising models, ahead of future decisions on how services will be structured beyond existing contracts.

The study is supported by government funding of £449,000 for Cornwall alone, with multiple authorities participating nationally.

This demonstrates the seriousness with which bus reform is now being pursued.

However, the FOI response also confirmed something striking.

When asked whether the pilot programme included documentation explaining:

• how bus safety incident data would be collected or monitored
• whether safety performance would be reviewed within the reform process
• whether safety information would be published publicly
• whether safety reporting requirements would form part of contracts

the response was clear.

The authority stated that it does not hold this information.

Reforming The System — But Not The Safety Framework

This matters because bus services are not simply another contracted public service.

They are a major component of the national transport system, carrying millions of passengers every day.

Across the wider transport sector, serious incidents are not investigated purely by operators or regulators.

They are examined by independent bodies whose sole purpose is to understand what went wrong and prevent it happening again.

Britain already operates three such organisations:

• the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB)
• the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB)
• the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB)

Each exists for a simple reason.

Accident investigation must focus on learning and prevention, not blame.

Their work has transformed safety culture across aviation, rail and maritime transport.

Yet buses — despite their scale and importance — have no equivalent independent investigation body.

The Missing Piece In Bus Reform

The documents released through FOI illustrate that current bus reform workstreams focus primarily on:

• governance
• commercial frameworks
• network design
• procurement
• funding models

All of these issues are important.

But none address a fundamental question:

How does the bus sector systematically learn from serious incidents?

At present, accident investigation within the bus sector is fragmented.

Investigations may involve:

• operators
• insurers
• the police
• the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency
• the Traffic Commissioner

Each has a role.

But none exist primarily to conduct independent, system-level safety investigations in the way the RAIB, AAIB and MAIB do for other transport modes.

Why This Matters Now

This gap becomes even more significant at a time when bus governance is changing rapidly.

The Bus Services Act, the forthcoming Bus Services Bill, and the spread of franchising powers mean local authorities will increasingly take strategic control over bus networks.

With greater public control must come greater transparency and stronger safety governance.

If bus reform is intended to create a modern, accountable public transport system, then the way the industry learns from accidents and safety incidents must evolve alongside it.

A Simple Question

Britain investigates accidents in the air.

Britain investigates accidents on the railway.

Britain investigates accidents at sea.

So the question is straightforward.

Why does Britain not have an independent Bus Accident Investigation Branch?

The Opportunity

The current wave of bus reform offers an opportunity to address this.

As government, local authorities and operators work together to reshape how bus services are delivered, the sector has a chance to strengthen the safety framework that sits behind it.

That means considering:

• national safety data standards
• transparent reporting of safety incidents
• protected reporting for bus workers
• independent accident investigation focused on learning

These are not radical ideas.

They are already standard practice across other parts of the transport system.

If Buses Are The Future Of Public Transport

Successive governments have been clear that buses must play a larger role in the future of transport.

That ambition is widely shared across the industry.

But if buses are to become a truly modern, trusted and central part of the transport network, then the systems that govern safety and learning must keep pace with the reforms taking place elsewhere.

Reforming bus networks is important.

But reforming how the industry learns from safety incidents may ultimately prove even more important.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lee Odams is a UK bus driver with nearly two decades of frontline experience and an active campaigner on public transport policy, safety governance and passenger accessibility.

He regularly engages with government consultations, submits Freedom of Information requests relating to transport policy, and contributes to discussions around bus reform, safety transparency and the future of public transport in Britain.

Bus Safety
Bus Reform
Bus Franchising
Public Transport
Transport Policy
Transport Governance