Public transport is the backbone of our towns, cities and regions - enabling us to visit family and friends or to give us access to our job, retail, and leisure opportunities.

For too long, the system has been broken and, unsurprisingly the source of many of the complaints I receive from frustrated constituents. 

Rail services in Bolton South and Walkden have been plagued by chaos for years, Kearsley station continues to be ranked as one of the worst in the country. Bus services into and out of the town centre were significantly reduced. Then, disappointingly, Bolton was excluded from talks on a Metrolink tram service.

Last week, at Labour Party conference, I was relieved and thrilled to hear the new Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh confirm that she has already started work on fixing the country’s transport network.

After years of dysfunction, disruption, and decline in the railway system, the very first Bill laid before Parliament by our new government is set to bring the railways back into public ownership.

Meanwhile, here in Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham has worked tirelessly to bring public transport back into the hands of the public and very soon we will have local rail forming part of the Bee Network alongside buses and trams.

Bolton was the birthplace of the Bee Network, with the first publicly run bus in almost 40 years leaving Bolton this time last year. For me, it was a source of pride to hear King Charles read the announcement of the ‘Better Buses Bill’ during the King’s Speech, knowing that the work behind that announcement had started here in Bolton.

Passengers in Bolton will benefit from new and better buses, capped fares, London-style contactless ticketing and improved routes. The longer-term aim is to have a growing active travel network to better connect all parts of our region and enable journeys that are easier, cheaper, and more sustainable.

Above all we will finally have a transport system that places people before profits; one which prevents elderly residents in Bolton from being cut off and isolated and helps families who struggled to meet ends meet and yet faced above inflation fare rises.

This is just the beginning. Alongside Bolton Council and our other Bolton MPs, I will be campaigning for more transport links into Bolton to ensure that we have fast and affordable links to our neighbouring towns of Bury and Wigan, alongside our existing connections to Salford and Manchester. As performance data from the Bee Network has already shown, a properly integrated public transport is key to unlocking growth and opportunity across our town and region.