The government has stated that thirty-one counties, city regions and unitary authorities have been chosen for funding to level up their local bus services in the latest awards from the government’s bus transformation programme.

Including earlier awards, just under two-thirds of England’s population outside London will benefit from new investment to make their buses more frequent, more reliable, easier to understand and use, cheaper, or greener. Improvements will also include integrated ticketing and more bus lanes to speed up journeys.

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.

As the government stated in last year’s national bus strategy, Bus Back Better, areas not showing sufficient ambition, including for improvements to bus priority, would not be funded.

In the meantime, a further £150 million is being provided across England to maintain service levels as patronage continues to recover after the pandemic.

Areas among those set to receive funding to help deliver on their Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIP) include:

  • Portsmouth
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Greater Manchester
  • West Yorkshire
  • West Midlands
  • Liverpool City Region
  • North East and North of Tyne Combined Authorities
  • Reading
  • Norfolk
  • Luton
  • York
  • Warrington

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, start imminently, funded by £23.5 million from the government.

From 10 April, most bus fares in the county will be slashed, with short hop fares down by 20%, longer journeys costing up to 40% less and some bus passes cut by almost 50%.

Passes for unlimited bus travel across Cornwall will cost just £5 per day (down from £9) or £20 per week. Town zones offer great value travel for just £2.50 per day or £10 for a week. For commuters travelling 5 days a week, that works out at just £2 a day or £1 per journey.

All tickets will be available on all operators’ services and, in the summer, contactless tap-on and tap-off payments will be introduced, and buses will connect easily with the main rail line at stations across the county.

See: Cheaper and better buses in £7 billion package to level up transport outside London – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)