‘Final’ tranche of emergency funding for bus operators in England will offer greater flexibility to adapt services to meet changing travel patterns

 
Baroness Vere: ‘Buses are the lifeblood of our communities’

 
England’s bus operators will receive £226.5m of government funding to support their recovery as Covid-19 restrictions are lifted, transport minister Baroness Vere announced this week.

“Buses are the lifeblood of our communities, helping us get to work, school and to see friends and family,” said Vere. “The recovery funding will ensure vital services continue to run by supporting operators in those initial months, as restrictions are lifted and passengers begin to return in higher numbers.”

The government is estimated to have provided over £1.7bn of emergency funding for England’s bus operators, outside London, since the pandemic began, and the latest tranche of funding will push this beyond £2bn by the end of the current financial year.

The new round of emergency funding will run from September 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, and will support operators across England, outside of London. It will replace the current £27.3m a week Coronavirus Bus Service Support Grant (CBSSG), which works on the basis of claimable costs and is due to end on August 31.

The new funding will provide a fixed subsidy based on key metrics, “ensuring the sector can begin to return to commerciality”. It will allow operators greater flexibility to adapt services to meet the new post-pandemic bus travel demand.

Equating to around £7.5m a week, less than a third of the amount that is being paid out under CBSSG, it will be “the final tranche of Covid-19-related support provided to the sector”.

With the government’s mixed messaging on face coverings likely to cause confusion for passengers we now need to see the government working with industry to loudly back a return to bus

Responding to the news, the Confederation of Passenger Transport, which represents bus operators, said: “Today’s announcement recognises the crucial role buses will play in the country’s recovery from Covid-19.

“Operators will be working with local authorities to ensure the services passengers need are in place as restrictions end and new travel patterns begin to emerge. This will be an integral part of our joint working on bold Bus Service Improvement Plans that put buses at the heart of transport networks to maximise the potential of the National Bus Strategy for communities across the country.

“With the government’s mixed messaging on face coverings likely to cause confusion for passengers we now need to see the government working with industry to loudly back a return to bus to help the economic recovery in our towns and cities and ensure the country remains on track to meet its ambitious climate change and air quality goals.”

 
This article appears alongside further coverage in the latest issue of Passenger Transport.

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