The UK government has announced a £130 million funding package to protect buses in England and keep services running.
On August 19, the government announced the package with the aim to ensure passengers can continue to use affordable transport in England.
Government Bus Funding
The funding will cover six months from October 2022 to March 2023. It will help protect bus services which are ‘particularly important to people facing pressures due to the rising cost of living,’ Gov.uk states.
Over the past two years, the government has been providing support to keep bus networks going, and this new package means that almost £2 billion has been made available to over 160 bus operators during the pandemic.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: ‘This funding will ensure millions across the country can continue to use vital bus services, and brings the total we’ve provided to the sector throughout the pandemic to almost £2 billion.‘
He explained that due to the widespread worry about rising costs, it is ‘more important than ever’ that the bus routes are saved for the ‘millions’ who rely on them for many reasons including work, school, and shopping.
Government continues to support bus routes
The government has announced that it will also be investing £3 billion in bus services by 2025. The focus is clearly placed on affordability, and the environment as this investment will include over £1 billion to improve fares, services and infrastructure, while £525 million will go towards zero-emission buses.
Graham Vidler, Chief Executive of the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said the announcement will help bus operators and local authority partners to ‘balance a network of reliable and affordable services in the short-term as bus networks adapt to new travel patterns.’
Vidler stated: ‘We welcome the government’s announcement of recovery funding to support bus services in local communities for a further 6 months.‘
What is the plan for the long term? Vidler says that they will continue to work ‘closely’ with the central government and local authorities to encourage existing and new passengers to get on board the country’s buses, ‘ensuring they are provided the best possible services.‘