More pain for West Midlands bus passengers

23 March 2023

The West Midlands bus driver strike continues. We know from our research that around half of regular bus users don’t have easy access to any other mode of transport for their journeys, so will be struggling to reach work, appointments or leisure activities.

So, as the voice of transport users, how can Transport Focus help? We have no role in industrial relations, though we urge all parties to get round the table and resolve this as soon as possible.

But in the meantime, we check that the online and customer facing information that passengers need is as easy to find and access. We work with, challenge and push operators and stakeholders to do the best job possible for passengers, publishing what we find both good and not so good. We also follow this up and recommend good practice and areas of focus every time there is disruption. We also monitor their experience ‘on the ground’.

Today we are pushing for wider ticket acceptance where it can help and a focus on the needs of passengers with accessibility needs.

To keep people moving, they need good information, choices, collaboration, and empathy – and we will be working with anyone and everyone on behalf of passengers to get that for them.