CPT / Frontier Toolkit for Local Authorities — Where Is Bus Safety?

A recently circulated toolkit produced by the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and Frontier Economics — and promoted via the Bus Centre of Excellence — raises an important and troubling question:

Where is bus safety?

The document, Models for delivery of local bus networks: Handbook for Local Transport Authorities, is designed to help authorities choose between delivery models including franchising, partnerships, and other regulatory approaches. It is intended to guide decision-making on how bus services should be structured, governed and delivered.

However, a review of the document reveals something striking.

The words “safety” and “collision” do not appear.

This is not a minor omission. These frameworks influence decisions on:

• Network structure
• Service design
• Contracting models
• Operator incentives
• Performance monitoring
• Governance arrangements
• Delivery risk

All of these directly impact operational safety outcomes.

Yet safety appears to be absent from the decision framework.

This is particularly concerning given that local transport authorities are currently making major structural decisions under the Bus Services Act, including franchising schemes and enhanced partnerships. These reforms fundamentally change how services are planned, specified and monitored.

If safety is not explicitly embedded within those frameworks, there is a risk that:

• Operational risk is not properly assessed
• Collision risk is not modelled
• Driver workload impacts are overlooked
• Service frequency pressures are not safety-tested
• Urban design changes are not risk assessed
• Network changes are not monitored for safety outcomes

This concern aligns with findings from extensive Freedom of Information work undertaken across the UK.

Responses from transport authorities, combined authorities and government bodies repeatedly show:

• No consistent bus safety datasets
• Fragmented reporting arrangements
• Limited governance oversight
• Lack of published safety KPIs
• Reliance on operator-held data
• No standardised national reporting framework

In some cases, authorities have confirmed they do not hold bus safety incident data at all.

At the same time, national policy continues to encourage structural reform, franchising and regulatory change — without equivalent emphasis on safety governance.

If toolkits used by authorities to choose regulatory models do not embed safety considerations, this risks creating a system where:

Governance is restructured…
Contracts are redesigned…
Networks are reorganised…

But safety oversight remains unchanged.

This is not about criticising any single organisation. It highlights a broader issue across the sector: safety is often assumed, but not systematically built into governance frameworks.

If we are serious about improving public transport, safety must be embedded at the centre of:

• Franchising frameworks
• Partnership models
• Performance dashboards
• Contract specifications
• Network redesign
• Policy guidance
• Decision-making tools

Not treated as an afterthought.

The absence of safety considerations in a toolkit intended to guide local transport authorities is therefore significant. It reinforces the need for:

• Transparent safety data
• Standardised reporting
• Published safety KPIs
• Independent oversight
• Clear governance structures
• Safety-led decision frameworks

As bus reform continues across the UK, this issue becomes increasingly important.

Structural change without safety governance risks repeating the same weaknesses in a different model.

Real reform should embed safety at the heart of how bus networks are designed, delivered and monitored.

Bus safety, Bus franchising, Bus governance, Public transport safety, Vision Zero, Transport policy, Bus Centre of Excellence, CPT, Frontier Economics, Bus Services Act, Transport governance, Local transport authorities, Bus regulation, UK bus policy, Safety data transparency

About the Author

Lee Odams is Branch Secretary of the RMT Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Bus Branch and a long-standing campaigner for improved bus safety governance, transparency and data publication.

Through extensive Freedom of Information requests across the UK, he has been examining how transport authorities monitor bus safety, publish performance data and embed safety within franchising and partnership models.

His work focuses on strengthening accountability, improving safety oversight and ensuring bus reform places passenger and public safety at its core.

Sources / References

CPT / Frontier Economics — Models for delivery of local bus networks

Bus Centre of Excellence — CPT toolkit for local authorities

Route One — Influence becomes implementation for Bus Services Act in England

Freedom of Information responses from UK transport authorities (2019–2026)