The government’s bus transformation programme has chosen thirty-one counties, city regions and unitary authorities for funding to level up their local bus services. The successful areas have been chosen because of their ambition to repeat the success achieved in London – which drove up bus usage and made the bus a natural choice for everyone, not just those without cars.
A further £150 million is being provided across England to maintain service levels as patronage continues to recover after the pandemic.
Mayoral combined authorities will also receive money for buses from the £5.7 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS).
Improvements in the pilot area, Cornwall, will start next week, funded by £23.5 million from the government.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Buses are the most popular way of getting around in this country – but for too long people outside of London have had a raw deal. The investment we’re making today to ramp up the bus revolution will drive down fares at a time when people’s finances are tight and help connect communities across England.”
A further 600 green buses have been funded in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from the block grant to the devolved administrations, putting the UK on target to meet its commitment of 4,000 zero-emission buses.
The government confirmed £5.7 billion in funding to level up local bus, tram, rail, walking and cycling networks in England’s 8 city regions.
The CRSTS give the mayors of the largest cities long-term certainty to plan and deliver transformational improvements to their local transport systems.
The government confirmed that tram and light rail operators across the Midlands and the North will also benefit from over £37 million of government support including:
- Manchester (£20.5 million)
- the North East Nexus (£7.3 million)
- the West Midlands (£2.7 million)
- Sheffield (£4 million)
- Nottingham (£3.3 million)
All will receive a share of the government’s multimillion-pound pandemic recovery package.
This money will be used to ensure light rail services continue to run and millions of passengers can continue to get around as the country emerges from the pandemic.