Written questions by Mayer.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of moving rail functions from Transport Focus to the new passenger watchdog on integration between train and bus.

The Passenger Watchdog will be grown out of Transport Focus, which will be given significantly stronger powers to become a more effective passenger champion in rail. Therefore, no rail functions are being moved out of Transport Focus. The watchdog will be multi-modal from the start and continue to cover Transport Focus’ existing watchdog functions covering trams, buses, coaches and England's strategic road network. This ensures it can monitor transport user experience across these modes.

What information her Department holds on the number of ticket sales for season tickets from (a) Leighton Buzzard to Euston, (b) Cambridge to Kings Cross, (c) Bath to Paddington, (d) Three Bridges to Victoria, and (e) Guildford to Waterloo in 2024-2025 financial year.

The number of season tickets is shown below:OriginDestinationNumber Of Season TicketsBATH SPALONDON TERMINALS (Paddington)1,535CAMBRIDGELONDON TERMINALS (Kings Cross)13,026GUILDFORDLONDON TERMINALS (Waterloo)26,655LEIGHTON BUZZARDLONDON TERMINALS (Euston)25,914THREE BRIDGESLONDON TERMINALS564THREE BRIDGESVICTORIA LONDON1,397 Where London Terminals is listed as the destination, this is used rather than the mainline station as a destination. London Terminals is the London all terminals ticket, this gives the passenger flexible travel into London when multiple terminal options exist.

What discussions she has had with the coach industry on battery electric motorway charging networks.

In line with the Government’s ambitions for zero emission vehicles, the Government is working with industry to make charging for longer journeys easy, fast and reliable. Officials continue to engage with industry, including motorway service area operators, chargepoint operators, and coach operators, on supporting provision for larger vehicles such as coaches. Coach operators were also eligible for the up to £30 million Depot Charging Scheme, which opened in July 2025 and for which applications are now being assessed.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of public procurement reforms on the long-term competitiveness of the UK bus manufacturing sector; and what steps her Department is taking to maximise procurement opportunities for UK manufacturers.

The Government is committed to supporting UK jobs and industry, including the UK bus manufacturing sector. As part of this, we have consulted on further procurement reforms to boost domestic supply chains and create more opportunities for businesses, including the UK bus manufacturing sector. Additionally, we are supporting Combined Mayoral Authorities to coordinate the procurement of buses through a Crown Commercial Service commercial agreement; supplemented by the soon to be published ten-year pipeline of future bus orders, which will provide much needed certainty to the UK manufacturing sector. This includes providing advice on using social value criteria that play directly to the strengths of domestic suppliers when procuring new buses, such as creating and retaining jobs.

What steps she is taking through the forthcoming 10-year bus procurement plan to support UK (a) bus manufacturers and (b) UK businesses in the bus manufacturing supply chain.

On 13 March 2025 I launched the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, bringing together industry experts and local leaders to ensure that the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. The Panel is a forum to enable collaboration between Government, manufacturers and the wider industry. The Panel has been developing a pipeline of future zero emission bus orders to provide better planning certainty to the sector – for both manufacturers and their supply chain. Data has been gathered on potential bus orders over the next ten years and will be published on GOV.UK shortly.The procurement of zero emission buses is led by Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Transport Authorities and bus operators.

What discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on policies to support growth in the bus manufacturing sector.

My officials work closely with DBT officials, including through the ongoing work of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel.

With reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Railways Bill factsheet: tickets and retail, published on 5 November 2025, whether the Office of Rail and Road will lead the consultation on the statutory Code of Practice or whether this will be undertaken jointly with her Department.

The future rail retail industry code of practice will set out clear requirements for how Great British Railways (GBR) interacts with all market participants. It will be owned and managed by the Office of Rail and Road, and GBR’s licence will require compliance with it. The Railways Bill enables the Secretary of State to introduce the licence condition that will underpin the code of practice and give it force.The Government has confirmed that there will be full consultation on the production of the code of practice. Further detail on that consultation will be set out in due course.

What estimate she has made of the level of additional funding for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to undertake the proposed functions in the Railways Bill; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of ensuring the ORR has sufficient levels of resources to achieve a sufficient level of (a) independence and (b) expertise to fulfil the proposed functions in the Railways Bill.

The Railways Bill gives ORR a statutory power to levy a fee, providing stable and predictable funding to support its independence and effective operation. ORR's own analysis has been reflected in the SR settlement for 2026–27 to 2028–29. Final funding levels will depend on how ORR implements its new role and will remain subject to Spending Review outcomes.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing the 50 kilometre regular service restriction currently applied to drivers aged 18 and 19 holding a category D licence on the number of qualified drivers.

The Government recognises that the bus and coach sector has had issues recruiting and retaining bus drivers in recent years, and is considering next steps following the consultation held on this issue in April 2024.

Whether she plans to publish an update to the National Travel Attitudes Study statistics.

The National Travel Attitudes Study (NTAS) is currently paused whilst the department explores options for its future.

Whether her Department’s road safety strategy will include an assessment of the potential impact of daylight hours on accident rates.

The Government treats road safety seriously and is committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. The road safety strategy is under development and will include a broad range of policies. We intend to publish the strategy this year.

Whether her Department plans to provide financial support to small businesses to purchase zero emission heavy goods vehicles after 2026.

The Government has kickstarted the deployment of zero emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and their supporting charging and fuelling infrastructure through initiatives such as the Plug-In Truck Grant (PiTG), the £30 million Depot Charging Scheme, and the up to £200 million Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID).These initiatives are open to all businesses, including small businesses, to support the uptake of zero emission HGVs by lowering upfront costs and supporting the provision of dedicated HGV charging infrastructure.The PiTG remains in place until the end of the 2026/27 financial year. The ZEHID programme is funding hundreds of ZE HGVs and their associated recharging and refuelling sites by March 2026.While the Depot Charging Scheme will close on or by 28 November 2025, by supporting necessary infrastructure, the funding will provide confidence to the logistics sector and support British businesses to transition to zero emission.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a zero emission vehicle mandate for heavy duty vehicles.

The Government believes that more needs to be done to decarbonise the road freight sector. We are considering our regulatory approach to decarbonise new non-zero emission heavy goods vehicles and will engage with stakeholders in due course.

What steps she is taking to improve charging infrastructure for electric heavy goods vehicles.

The up to £200 million Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) is kickstarting the deployment of zero emission HGV infrastructure and has already funded 73 planned infrastructure locations, representing over 360 chargers. The Government is further supporting the installation of charging equipment at depots through the £30 million Depot Charging Scheme.

With reference to the statistics entitled Monthly total number of electric vehicle public charging devices available in the UK, published on 1 October 2025, if she will provide a breakdown by local transport authority.

Geographic breakdowns of the number of public electric vehicle charging devices in the UK are published in the tables for Electric vehicle public charging infrastructure statistics: October 2025. Table 1a summarises the number of public charging devices by region and local authority. Table 7a summarises the number of public charging devices by parliamentary constituency. The Department does not hold this data summarised at local transport authority level. The tables are included as a supplementary attachment to this response.

When her Department expects passenger train services to begin operating on the first section of East West Rail between Oxford and Milton Keynes.

The Department is working closely with Chiltern Railways and other partners to confirm a start date for the service. We are looking forward to commencing services as soon as all necessary authorisations and agreements are in place. Passenger services will commence once train testing and driver training have been completed.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of adopting single/double summer time on road safety.

The department has not made a recent assessment of the potential of adopting single/double summertime on road safety. The Government believes that the current daylight-saving arrangements represent the best possible use of the available daylight.

What assessment she has made of the costs to her Department of climate-related extreme weather since 1 January 2020.

Climate change projections suggest the UK will experience more frequent and severe weather events which have the potential to disrupt transport. The Department reports on the risks and opportunities from climate change through the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This was included in DfT’s 2024-25 annual reports and accounts, in which the Department highlighted flooding and sea-level rise as a high-impact, high-cost climate risk.

How many miles of the national cycle network are permissive routes.

In England, approximately 2,720 miles of the National Cycling Network is on a permissive right of way. Of this, over 50% is on land owned by a Local Authority or other public body.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2025 to Question 53316 on HGV Parking and Driver Welfare Grant Scheme, what recent progress she has made on the review of the scheme; and when she will publish interim findings.

The HGV Parking Matched Funding Grant Scheme (MFGS) was launched in 2022 to fund investment in: HGV driver welfare facilities, lorry parking provision, site security, and decarbonisation. These priorities were identified through the National Survey of Lorry Parking (2022) and aim to improve the working conditions of HGV drivers. The scheme has been extended until March 2026 to allow more time for projects to be completed. My department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the scheme, to consider the application and delivery process, the role of the scheme in improving lorry driver facilities in England and the impact of the site improvements for drivers. The report is due to be finalised and published by spring 2026.