On Friday 7th March, Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst, Member of Parliament for Solihull West & Shirley, joined Saqib Bhatti, Member of Parliament for Meriden & Solihull East, and business leaders from across the Borough to discuss the Solihull Chamber of Commerce’s Quarterly Business Report, focusing on public transport connectivity.
In his pre-budget speech on Monday 28 October 2024, the Prime Minister announced, in Birmingham, that the single bus fares cap of £2 would be increased to £3. The increase in fares was also coupled with an unexpected reduction in services across the constituency by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM).
Neil criticised the decision in Parliament and warned that commuters will face the choice between either more expensive and difficult journeys or not being able to get to work, shops, or college as a direct consequence of Labour’s transport policies. Neil also launched his own transport survey in 2024, in order to better understand how TfWM’s changes to bus routes would impact constituents.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP said:
I would like to thank the team from Solihull Chamber of Commerce for presenting their latest update report and its findings.
The overwhelming majority of commuters currently travel by car, yet there is a clear appetite from many to use public transport if services are of a good standard. Local employers also believe that our existing public transport system is inadequate and is hindering recruitment opportunities.
Conducting my own research, through my bus fare cap survey, and having discussions with constituents, the conclusion is that the recent alterations to bus routes are creating unnecessary hardship for rural constituents.
Moving forward, we will feed our research into Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s Connected Transport Strategy and to the Mayor of the West Midlands.
