Quarter of bus services outside London 'could be axed without funding extension'

The Department for Transport’s Bus Recovery Grant is due to expire when the financial year ends on April 5 and new analysis by consultants Steer for the Urban Transport Group, the network of city region transport authorities, has warned without an extension of pandemic-related funding that 26 per cent of services in cities outside London could be lost.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin said the situation was “the very opposite of levelling up”.

It comes as decisions are also being awaited on how much ‘transformation’ funding areas will receive under the Government’s Bus Back Better programme.

Ms Brabin said: “I’ve been raising this issue with government for months, and have spoken candidly with Ministers about the bus services in our region that are under threat.

“It’s very disappointing to see that there is still no decision on whether bus operators will continue to receive financial support from April.

“Fewer people than usual are using buses at the moment, but as they return to their workplaces they’re finding routes cut and frequencies reduced. For those people who rely on our bus network, this is the very opposite of levelling up.

“Some smaller bus companies are also at risk of going out of business while others have said they may have to cut services further if funding cannot be secured from April 2022.

“The Combined Authority is able to financially support some of these services but there’s a limit to what we can do.

“In West Yorkshire we’ve put in bids for future funding as part of the Government’s Bus Back Better programme – but we’re in danger of not having services to support when that funding arrives.

“The government need to hear our concerns and act fast.”

Earlier this week, the Local Government Association warned that closing bus routes would have a “devastating impact” on people who rely on them to get to work, visit family and access vital services.

More than £1.7bn of Government funding has been made available to bus operators to keep services running during the Covid crisis. Latest DfT figures show bus use in Britain is at about 23 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. Before the virus crisis, commuting accounted for around a third of bus travel.

The shift towards home working means many of those journeys are not being made despite all movement restrictions being lifted. But the new Steer report argues that extending funding “has the potential to get patronage levels back towards their pre-pandemic levels”.

A DfT spokesperson said: “We’re working closely with the sector to understand the potential challenges and mitigations once it ends in April.”

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