Bringing public transport into public ownership

Transport and other unions argue that public ownership of public transport is essential for decarbonising transport and tackling air pollution. A 2019 Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED) report, The road less travelled: reclaiming public transport for climate-ready mobility, reviews transport-related energy and emissions trends and the inadequacy of existing transport decarbonisation commitments and policy approaches. It debunks myths and misunderstandings regarding the place of electric cars in decarbonising road transport, and sets out the case for a publicly owned, integrated, decarbonised public transport system to provide sustainable mobility that serves the needs of working people.

Labour Party policy is to bring private rail companies back into public ownership as their franchises expire. In April 2019, it announced new funding of £1.3 billion per year to reverse cuts made to 3,000 bus routes by the Conservatives since 2010 and to fund the expansion of new bus services. A Labour government would also “put communities in control” by regulating and bringing into public ownership local bus services. It also plans to introduce free bus fares for the under-25s.