Paul Truswell brought forward this Bill with a speech that complained about the quality of bus services available outside London in what he described as “A tale of two cities”.

The first city - London - where bus services were not de-regulated along with the rest of the country in 1986 and the second, he claimed, is the remainder of Britain.  

The Bus Services (Quality Contracts Schemes) Bill focused on the amendment of requirements for making quality contract schemes under the Transport Act 2000 and Truswell described it as:

“Dedicated to the millions of passengers, including my constituents, who have seen their services decline and disappear over the past 19 years and fares increase”

The Labour MP for Pudsey also argued that although bus fares have risen by 50 per cent in some areas, standards have fallen dramatically where as London’s Bus service has enjoyed an increased patronage.

House of Commons

First reading: March 1 2005 (HC Bill 68)

Second reading: Never reached