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The government has announced £3 billion in funding that it says will improve bus journeys for millions of passengers. The cash provided over several years will be allocated to local governments, who will decide how to spend it. Benefits could include lower fares, more frequent and reliable service and safer rides, officials say. Labor minister for buses and roads Simon Lightwood told the Express the money could be used specifically to improve rural connections.
Asked which parts of the country he thought needed investment most, he said: “It’s really about making sure the money goes across the country. Previous governments tended to do these rounds of funding as competitions. So it was almost like the Hunger Games where regions were pitted against each other. What we’ve done and changed with this Government is to introduce a more formulaic approach, so that regions across the country are given that money.”
Mr Lightwood said the funding was allocated based on local population, bus mileage and rural area.
“We are acutely aware that some of our rural areas have been hit,” he added.
“So it’s really about fairness and moving this to a more sustainable and fairer model for funding in the future.”
Regional funding breakdown
- North East – £100.7 million
- North West – £373.4 million
- Yorkshire and Humber – £231.9 million
- East Midlands – £157.4 million
- West Midlands – £264.1 million
- East of England – £309 million
- South East – £369 million
- South West – £245.9 million
In the summer the National Audit Office reported that gaps in local authority bus capacity and capability were a “critical risk”, with 46% rating their capacity to provide local transport as “fairly poor” or “very poor”.
He added that bus services in England had not recovered to pre-COVID levels, which were already in decline.
The report also stated that the total number of bus trips will decrease by 9% in 2023-24 compared to 2019-20.
“The £2 bus fare cap introduced in 2023 has contributed to an estimated 5% increase in bus use, but has not removed other barriers to bus choice, such as poor frequency or reliability,” officials wrote.
The government introduced a £3 bus fare cap in January 2025, which will expire in March 2027.
As well as £3bn in support, the government has also announced a £3m Bus Franchising Fund.
This will help Municipal Combined Authorities with the costs of franchising bus services, a model that has already been adopted in areas such as Greater Manchester.
The Department for Transport said: “Today’s announcement is part of the Government’s wider commitment to make public transport cheaper and more reliable and reduce the cost of living for working people.
“Freezing rail fares for the first time in 30 years will save passengers traveling on more expensive routes more than £300 a year, meaning they get to keep more of their hard-earned money.
“The government is also reforming the railways through Great British Railways, which will bring fares and ticketing into the 21st century with entry/exit and digital ticketing, providing better value for money for passengers.”
