Rural transport funding transformed by decision to cancel HS2: Guy Opperman

There is a further £4.7 billion for local authorities in the North and Midlands through the new local integrated transport settlement, which will allow authorities to deliver a range of new transport schemes to help reduce congestion and upgrade junctions, as well as to invest in active travel and zero-emission buses.

Buses have a key role to play in improving connectivity and supporting rural areas to develop and grow the economy.

That is why the Government have invested so heavily in buses over the past few years.

Following the introduction of the national bus strategy, the Government are providing over £1 billion of support to help local authorities to deliver their bus service improvement plans, and this support will remain in place until at least April 2025.

It is up to local authorities to determine how this bus funding should be spent, including by assessing the needs of local communities.

Many rural areas of the North and Midlands will benefit from hundreds of millions of pounds that the Government have allocated from the HS2 moneys, through Network North, to help level up bus services.

That includes £1.9 million of bus service improvement plan funding, and it will receive further money through Network North funding.

As part of our regular funding, we also support buses through the bus service operators grant, which is worth over £259 million a year to bus and community transport operators.

I deprecate those individual providers that have not taken up the £2 bus fare, which is a key change we have made. The introduction of the £2 bus fare has been transformational in my Northumberland community and across the country. I am delighted that, following the launch of Network North, the £2 bus fare will continue to run for a considerable time.

We know that rural bus fares can be expensive, for obvious reasons. Before the introduction of the £2 cap, many users of rural bus services found themselves having to pay more than £5 a trip.

I am particularly pleased that we have extended the cap, which clearly supports local communities and local economies by making travel to employment, health and leisure services in our beautiful rural regions more affordable and more accessible.

I share the disappointment that some bus operators have not signed up to the £2 bus fare, and I would urge them to do so. Over £600 million has been made available for the scheme to reduce the cost of bus travel.

Although participation is voluntary, the Department for Transport has encouraged as many operators as possible to continue to participate.

Guy Opperman is a Transport Minister. This is an edited version of a recent Parliamentary speech.