This November the call by the Campaign for Better Transport for the reform of  the funding of bus has coincided with a multi-million pound initiative announced by the Department for Transport.

The Campaign for Better Transport has produced a research paper ' Better Buses: reforming bus funding and you can read their paper here

The paper by Silviya Barrett includes some remarkable statistics and tables and does an admirable job of explaining a very complicated pattern of funding across the country.

The announcement by the Department for Transport includes the following summary of key strategies:-

• new funding will support, improve and protect crucial bus services across the country
• part of more than £1 billion to support buses while keeping fares low
• government action to end the bus postcode lottery, empower councils to take back control of services, and deliver a bus revolution

 

Here are some further details of the DfT's pledges:

"Every region in England will benefit from the funding – but particularly those areas which have been historically underserved, like rural areas and small towns.

The funding settlement will mean many more urban areas will be able to maintain their high levels of service – while other areas will be able to offer more services.

Totalling £955 million, the funding represents a record level of recent investment for bus improvements for the majority of areas, alongside once-in-a-generation reform to deliver London-style bus services to every corner of the country.

Areas receiving an unprecedented amount of funding for bus services include Leicester, the Isle of Wight, Torbay, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The investment has been designated to enhance popular routes, protect rural services and increase bus use for shopping, socialising and commuting. It will prevent service reductions on at-risk routes and improve punctuality across England, to bring an end to the current postcode lottery of unreliable services."

A Postcode Lottery

The Campaign for Better Transport's table of the stark differences in funding per capita  across the country is very striking....

Finally

Read more about the Campaign for Better Transport's call for minimum guaranteed provision here