Unreliable public transport holds us back in Cornwall.

In rural coastal areas like ours, buses are a vital link to education — especially for our young people. They connect us to jobs, training, and apprenticeships. When services are cut or routes become unreliable, it creates real barriers and leaves people isolated.

To deliver on the Prime Minister’s ambition for two-thirds of young people to participate in higher-level learning, we must improve transport across Cornwall. Without reliable buses, all the opportunities this Government is working to create simply don’t reach the people who need them most.

Here in Cornwall, we are lucky to have excellent further and higher education providers, working closely with businesses to provide more and more high-quality apprenticeships. And I am pleased to see Labour going further, with the new Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, which introduces V Levels: a new, practical qualification designed to give young people more choice. These will sit alongside A Levels and T Levels and allow students to explore key sectors like engineering, agriculture, digital, or the creative industries before choosing where to specialise. This gives young people more choice and clearer routes into the careers they want.

But none of this works if students can’t physically get to where they need to be to gain this experience and learn new skills. One of the major challenges, here in Cornwall, is the cost and availability of public transport to get apprentices to and from their college and workplace.

Recently, I was contacted by a number of families after the closure of a key bus route serving Truro College from Penryn and Ponsanooth. Some students were having to walk miles along unsafe roads, take long, complicated detours, or rely on parents juggling work to give them a lift. Others couldn’t get to college at all. I understood the frustration.

That is why I was so relieved to hear that Truro and Penwith College will reinstate the bus route. After meeting with the college, First Bus, and Go Cornwall, I am proud we reached a solution — and grateful to the many parents who raised their concerns to help make it happen.

More broadly, I welcome this Labour government’s decision to expand its bus franchising pilots into Cornwall. £500,000 of funding is being allocated to Cornwall Council to explore how franchising could support geographically spread-out communities like ours and help protect essential local routes — not just to colleges, but to hospitals and workplaces too. This six-month pilot is a chance to shape a better, more reliable transport network across the Duchy.

Public transport in Cornwall must be fit for purpose. And the works not done. I will continue pushing for the reinstatement of the U1(A) route, which is vital for hospital staff and patients who rely on a direct connection to Treliske.

If we are serious about raising aspirations and driving economic growth in rural and coastal areas like ours, we need to get transport right. Buses must never be a barrier to education, healthcare, or opportunity.