Solihull West & Shirley is a major economic driver of the West Midlands, which is why Neil is campaigning to ensure residents and inward commuters alike can travel into and around Solihull & Shirley with ease.
On 28th October 2024, the Prime Minister visited Birmingham to deliver a pre-Budget speech. In an unwelcomed move, the Prime Minister announced a nationwide bus fare cap increase from £2 to £3 - an increase of 50%.
Following this announcement, and understanding the economic importance of affordable buses, Neil wrote to the Mayor of the West Midlands, under whose authority buses in the constituency are commissioned via Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), calling on him to use his delegated powers to keep bus fares at £2. Unfortunately, it was confirmed that TfWM would increase the bus fare cap, starting in January 2025.
But this is not the only piece of disappointing news for those who rely upon buses to get about. The increase in fares was also coupled with an unexpected reduction in services across the constituency by TfWM.
The first question Neil asked in the House of Commons in 2025 scrutinised the impact of these bus changes. Commuters are now faced with the choice between either more expensive and difficult journeys or not being able to get to work, shops, or college. This particularly affects some of the constituency’s more rural areas such as Cheswick Green, where residents have been in touch with Neil to highlight the detrimental impact these changes are having on their day to day lives.
Neil is campaigning to make all forms of public transport better in Solihull West & Shirley. In order to do so, he is keen to hear about constituents experiences. He has launched a survey on the bus fare cap and the service reductions, which you can complete by visiting www.drneilshastri-hurst.co.uk/bus-fare-cap
The constituency and region are braced for further changes to our buses, with the news that the Mayor and TfWM have had their consultation plans approved for Franchising. Consultation is now open and closes in March 2025, you can review the Franchising plans and participate with the consultation through TfWM’s website here: https://www.tfwm.org.uk/consultations/bus-reform/.
Neil has also been working to improve our train services in the constituency. In August 2024, he met with Chiltern Railways to receive an update on both Solihull Station’s Integrated Transport Hub and the wider performance of Chiltern. The meeting confirmed that the line suffers with frequent overcrowding. A major contributing factor to this is the fact that Chiltern Railways has the oldest fleet of any operator at 30 years of age; with some carriages positively archaic at 47 years old.
Renewing the fleet will ensure there is additional capacity to alleviate overcrowding for constituents and to meet passenger demand for services on the Chiltern Mainline. Neil continues to press home this point and is campaigning for Chiltern to secure the required Government support for new carriages to be commissioned, alongside additional carriages to meet the anticipated growing demand.
The development of the Transport Hub, along with new and additional trains, will modernise and drastically improve passenger journeys and experiences for constituents. These initiatives have Neil’s support and will take travel by train in Solihull in the right direction.