Member

There is a view, which I think is well expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, that a strong emphasis on influencing behaviour, not least towards the achievement of environmental goals, should be an important driver of public policy. I understand that view, but there is also a realism that has to be brought to bear on this: buses first have to be paid for. Any policy predicated on buses being run without a healthy income from the fare box is mistaken—they will not run. Buses that depend perpetually on subsidy will not run; the subsidy will dry up. The huge subsidy that is given to London Buses, not by the Government but by the Mayor of London, has already had to be trimmed back. One day, the money will run out and the bus services will have to address the question of fares in London. It is not actually TfL’s responsibility; legally it is the mayor, rather than TfL, who sets the fares for TfL. He will have to address the question of fares in a way that actually meets financial reality.