- government steps in to provide £18 million for Greater
Manchester transport services
- additional funding settlement builds on over £400 million
government funding already being provided to Transport for
Greater Manchester (TfGM) since the start of the COVID-19
pandemic
- funding is conditional on TfGM reaching financial
sustainability and will maintain transport services in Greater
Manchester while sector recovers from the pandemic
Local transport services in Greater Manchester are being better
protected thanks to an extraordinary funding settlement of £18
million announced by the Transport Secretary today (8 June 2023)
to ensure the stability and reliability of the transport network.
The new funding for Transport for Greater Manchester
(TfGM) will
enable the city’s transport network to operate and recover from
the impact of the pandemic while considering value for money for
all taxpayers. The funding will support Greater Manchester’s
extensive public transport network in particular.
Set to last until the end of March 2024, the additional funding
follows more than £400 million provided for Greater Manchester’s
local transport network through numerous transport schemes since
March 2020. This is in addition to £1.07 billion through City Region Sustainable
Transport Settlements (CRSTS),
£39.7 million for active travel schemes and £19.87 million
through Levelling Up Funds for
transport.
Transport Secretary said:
Since the start of the pandemic, the government has repeatedly
stepped up to support Greater Manchester and the Bee Network,
providing over £400 million to protect and improve services.
We’re determined to see a thriving local transport network in
this great city and, while our support package must be fair to
taxpayers, I am confident this additional extraordinary
settlement will help operators to recover from the pandemic while
Transport for Greater Manchester follows through on its promise
to reach financial sustainability.
The funding is being provided on the condition that TfGM outlines a pathway
to financial sustainability as committed to in the Trailblazer Devolution
Deal, which strengthened the Mayor’s powers on transport in
Greater Manchester.
TfGM
currently faces a very distinct set of circumstances driven
principally by the way that Metrolink funding is structured and
the city region’s unique local funding commitment to the Greater
Manchester Transport Fund (GMTF).
Despite financial constraints impacting the country, this latest
funding reaffirms the government’s commitment to supporting the
network as it continues to combat declining bus and tram usage
levels, inflation costs, historic debts and additional revenue
risks from bus franchising, and continues to work towards
long-term financial sustainability.
Breakdown of funding provided to TfGM since the start of
the pandemic
Over £400 million government funding already being provided to
TfGM since
the start of the pandemic, including:
- following the announcement of 17 May
2023, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) will
receive a fixed sum of £13 million of Bus Service Operators
Grant plus (BSOG+) funding to continue
supporting services. This will be calculated based on mileage
and BSOG
claims for operators in GMCA in 22/23.
It will amount to a total of £6.5 million for each of 2023/24
and 2024/25
- over £13 million of funding to Greater Manchester for the
Bus Service Operators
Grant (BSOG) each year, with
Greater Manchester being the first authority in the country to
receive this funding directly
- £95 million in Bus Service Improvement
Plan funding
- £260 million since the start of the pandemic to support
Greater Manchester’s bus and tram network, including bespoke
arrangements over the Bus Recovery Grant funding during the
scheme, giving Greater Manchester full control over the use of
this funding
- £35.7 million through the Zero Emission Bus
Regional Areas scheme to support the introduction of a
green bus fleet
This funding is in addition to:
- Greater Manchester has been allocated £1.07 billion through
CRSTS,
part of a 5-year £5.7 billion government investment to improve
the transport networks of 8 city regions across England from
2022/23 to 2026/27
- at Spring Budget, a
further £8.8 billion was announced for a second round of
CRSTS 2
for 5 years from 2027. Core funding for Greater Manchester will
be included in its Single Mayoral Settlement. The process to
confirm individual allocations for city regions will be confirmed
at the next Spending Review
- £39.7 million for active travel schemes since the start of
the pandemic, including £23,719,500 million in the most recent
round of Active Travel Fund 4
allocations, alongside £2,876,601 in Capability Funding
2022 and £13,145,172 active travel fund allocations 2021/22
