Written questions by Holden.

What assessment her Department has made of trends in the level and frequency of local bus services since 4 July 2024; and what the minimum service levels are in each local authority area.

The Department for Transport publishes statistics on vehicle distance travelled on local bus services, which can be used as a proxy for bus service levels. These figures are not specifically available from 4 July 2024 onwards, but are available for the year ending March 2025 in the Department's published Annual Bus Statistics. This data can be found in Table BUS02: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/bus-statistics-data-tables#local-bus-vehicle-distance-travelled-bus02. The Department does not currently hold a dataset that provides local bus service frequency in a readily available format. The Government believes that local authorities, working with bus operators, are best placed to determine the design of local bus networks in their areas, and there are no centrally-prescribed minimum service levels. The Government has taken steps to help raise service levels across the country, including by introducing the Bus Service Act 2025 which puts passenger needs, reliable services and local accountability at the heart of local bus services by putting the power back in the hands of local leaders right across England. The Act includes a measure on socially necessary services that requires local authorities and bus operators to have to consider the alternatives to changing or cancelling these services. The Government also reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services long-term, confirming over £3 billion from 2026/27 over the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes funding allocated to local authorities, which could be used to improve local bus service levels.

How many passenger information screens have been replaced at LNER managed stations in the last 12 months.

Fifty screens have been replaced in the last 12 months at York and Newcastle stations. This forms part of LNER’s wider programme to enhance passenger information across all managed stations.

How many Class 357 units operated by c2c have been upgraded in the last 12 months.

The following upgrades and modifications of Class 357 units operated by c2c have been completed for the 25/26 calendar year:Train Painting & Corrosion Repairs: 27 unitsLED Lighting Upgrades: 10 unitsDoor Overhaul: 74 unitsTight Lock Auto Coupler Overhaul: 74 units

How many Greater Anglia trains have been fitted with advanced monitoring equipment.

Greater Anglia has fitted two units with infrastructure monitoring equipment. Some technology is cloud-based and is therefore not fitted ‘per train’. For example, existing CCTV footage can be analysed by AI to identify overgrown vegetation. There are plans to fit further systems to the fleet throughout 2026.

Whether she plans to introduce legislation to permit the use of side road zebra crossings in England; and what assessment her Department has made of the safety and cost-effectiveness of those crossings.

The Department is considering options for future legislative change to permit the use of side road zebra crossings in England, but no decisions have yet been made. An amendment to the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016 (TSRGD) would be required to permit zebra crossings to be placed without zig-zag lines or yellow globes. The Department has been working with Active Travel England who have been carrying out further research, including on safety, to inform good practice advice to support possible future legislative change.

Whether the Railways Bill will include a statutory target for passenger growth.

The Railways Bill was published on 5 November and will be debated at Committee stage later this month. GBR, as a passenger operator, will be incentivised to grow passenger numbers and will have a number of legal duties to support this. This includes duties to promote the interests of users, and potential users, and to maintain high standards of rail performance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 92691 on Great British Railways: Finance, if she will publish the hyperlink to the Spending Review settlement and additional commentary referenced in that Answer.

The links are below.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6849171796e63bce58e4e705/E03349913_HMT_Spending_Review_June_2025_Elay.pdfhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/68492799d0ca5d7801e4e709/Efficiency_delivery_plans_-_supplementary_document_-_FINAL.pdf

Whether the modernised training programme for LNER frontline staff has been completed.

This project is currently underway. London North Eastern Railway is modernising frontline training to ensure every passenger receives a consistently helpful and informed service. The programme will be completed by March 2026 and will include continuous refreshers delivered through modern learning methods.

What the cancellation rate on Northern services has been in each month since June 2024.

Information on train cancellations and punctuality is published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). It is published quarterly and by rail periods. Cancellations Data Periodic data on trains cancelled by operator can be found in ORR Table 3124 - Trains planned and cancellations by operator (periodic): Table 3124 - Trains planned and cancellations by operator (periodic) | ORR Data Portal

What steps she is taking to support modal shift to lower emissions from the transport sector.

The Government is supporting people to make more sustainable travel choices by improving public transport services and active travel infrastructure deployment. The Bus Services Act 2025 puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of communities. The Government has reaffirmed its commitment to investing in bus services by confirming over £3 billion from 2026/27 over the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. For active travel, we are allocating £626 million up to 2030 for local authorities to deliver walking and cycling schemes, and we will be publishing the third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy in the spring. To incentivise the shift of freight away from more polluting modes, the Mode Shift Revenue Support grant continues to encourage the movement of freight by rail or inland waterway instead of road, where journeys by rail or inland waterway would otherwise be more expensive.

What progress her Department has made on standardising signage for national and local cycle routes; and whether she plans to introduce a national approach to cycle route signage.

Signing for national and local cycle routes has been standardised since 1981. Current signs are prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. Active Travel England routinely checks signage quality on their route check tool, to make sure the use of signs is consistent.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the time taken to publish the Integrated National Transport Strategy on national and local transport planning; and how the Strategy will improve whole-journey integration between rail, bus, road and active travel.

The Department will publish the integrated national transport strategy shortly, which will set the long‑term vision for domestic transport across England.While developing the strategy, we have worked across government to ensure it aligns with forthcoming guidance and tools for local authorities and transport partners, including Outcome Frameworks and cross-government Integrated Settlements for Established Mayoral Strategic Authorities. We have undertaken regular engagement with stakeholders such as the Local Government Association and the Urban Transport Group, helping ensure the strategy addresses the main barriers people face in accessing good transport and supports effective planning at both the national and local levels.On whole-journey integration, the strategy will set out this government’s priorities for creating a transport network that works well for people across England, enabling more seamless journeys however they choose to travel.

How many Southeastern stations had pay as you go ticketing on 1 January in each year since 2010.

From 1 January 2010, Pay As You Go (PAYG) was available at 65 Southeastern stations, increasing to 68 from 1 January 2015. On 2 February 2025, Project Oval expanded PAYG ticketing to National Rail Stations in the Southeast of England, bringing the total of Southeastern stations with PAYG services on 1 January 2026 to 74.

How many vehicles on the West of England line have been modernised by South Western Railway since December 2025.

The 15X Fleet refurbishment programme started in December 2025 with refurbishment works on the first unit commencing on 29 December.

How many and what proportion of journeys on Greater Anglia services are within scope of pay as you go ticketing.

Greater Anglia has advised that as of the beginning of December 2025, Pay As You Go (PAYG) journeys on Greater Anglia services were 18 million per annum, accounting for 21 per cent of total Greater Anglia journeys. There are plans to further expand PAYG for journeys on Greater Anglia in the coming year.

By what a) number and b) proportion station staffing levels have changed on TransPennine Express services since 4 July 2024.

The increases over 2024/25 were mainly to fill vacancies that had been paused pending the previous Government’s proposals for the closure of ticket offices, which they reversed after significant public criticism. In mid-2024, TransPennine Express gradually increased the Hull station headcount by an additional four full-time employees to support station resilience. It has increased overall station staffing by a further 19 full-time employees to improve reliability and resilience of the delivery of passenger assistance and other customer services (e.g. retailing); many of these roles are currently being recruited into.

What steps she is taking to ensure that funding for bus services results in improved (a) passenger outcomes, (b) service frequency, (c) reliability and (d) bus stops.

On 5 December 2025, the Government confirmed investment of over £3 billion from 2026/27 for the rest of the spending review period to support local leaders and bus operators across the country to improve bus services for millions of passengers. This includes multi-year allocations for local authorities under the Local Authority Bus Grant (LABG) totalling nearly £700 million per year, ending the short-term approach to bus funding and giving councils the certainty they need to plan ahead. While local leaders have the freedom to use LABG funding as they see fit to deliver local priorities, LABG funding will be linked to an Outcomes Framework, which will track the impact of funding against indicators aligned with the issues that matter most to passengers, including for example punctuality and reliability. This framework will help the Department for Transport to identify where local transport authorities may need additional support to deliver the improvements their communities expect.

Whether the GPS based pay as you go trial between Sheffield and Barnsley has commenced.

Three Digital Pay As You Go (DPAYG) trials have successfully launched across the North and Midlands. The final trial, originally due to go live in November 2025, has been delayed. During rigorous pre-launch testing, issues were identified that would have prevented the DPAYG application from functioning as intended for participants. To ensure the trial delivers the best possible passenger experience and provides robust data for evaluation, the decision was taken to postpone the launch until these issues were resolved. We continue to work closely with Northern and the supplier to address the problems and launch as soon as possible. Northern will provide an update to participants in the respective trial in due course.

How many instances of failed Assisted Travel were recorded on Northern services in the last 12 months.

No train operators currently record individual instances of failed passenger assists. However, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) carries out surveys, and its 2024-25 survey showed that 20 per cent of all respondents reported their requests for passenger assistance on Northern were not fulfilled. ORR subsequently requested, and in December 2025 approved, a plan from Northern to improve its passenger assistance service.This includes: reviewing the staffing model for assistance at large stations (including Leeds); providing additional staff training on communication between boarding and alighting stations; introducing a dedicated team to remotely support passengers who require assistance, using tools such as WhatsApp; and trialling a new process to allow passengers travelling from unstaffed stations who have not pre-booked, to alert conductors to their assistance needs.

What the expected completion date is for Southeastern’s rolling stock procurement process.

The Southeastern rolling stock procurement is currently live and is subject to evaluation and all necessary governance for approvals. We are unable to confirm exact timescales due to the confidential nature of the live procurement, but subject to business case approval, it is anticipated that the contract award will be in 2026. Southeastern will keep all stakeholders informed as this progresses.