Bus services in West Yorkshire given last minute lifeline with £130m funding package

But a local Council leader has criticised the last-minute nature of the announcement.

Throughout the pandemic Government provided emergency funding for bus services that were experiencing a huge reduction in passenger numbers.

This funding was due to end in October.

But with passenger number still to reach anywhere near pre pandemic levels there were fears this cut could lead to numerous services, including dozens in West Yorkshire, disappearing due to plummeting income.

A recent study found up to a sixth of West Yorkshire’s bus network could be reduced due to the cuts.

Earlier this week West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and several other Northern leaders wrote to the Department for Transport urging them to continue the funding.

On Friday those pleas were answered as Government announced £130m extra national funding that will run from October until March.

After the announcement Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “We’ve been clear that government inaction would have decimated vital bus services and pushed people onto more expensive forms of transport, such as taxis, during the cost-of-living crisis – a time they can afford it least.

“This shows how mayors can be powerful voices to advocate for their region – and I’m delighted that my colleagues across the North joined my push for action. We can be stronger together than the sum of our parts.

“Now I am cracking on with rolling out cheaper bus fares across the region next month, including a £2 cap on journeys – to help ease the burden on household budgets.”

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, said: “We’ve been telling Government repeatedly for over a year now that withdrawing the Bus Recovery Grant was a huge error, but they’ve literally left it to the very last minute to give this grant extension.

“Today (Friday) is the day the bus operators had to make their decision about any bus services changes.

“We’ve been ringing Government all week to get a positive decision. If Government had made their decision any later than today the cuts to services would have been very severe indeed.

“As it is, the grant extension, we think, means that bus operators should really not be contemplating cuts at this time.

“In the longer term we cannot run bus services in such a hand to mouth fashion. Regardless of what model of operation is used, buses are a vital public service.

“Residents rely on them totally to get to work and to get to health, education and social activities. They are key to any economic recovery. There needs to be a long-term funding commitment from Government to regions for bus service operation.”