Funding for buses in England is almost £400 million a year lower
than it was ten years ago, Campaign for Better Transport has
revealed today, 25 October 2019. The Government's promised
National Bus Strategy must herald a change in the way buses are
funded, with a multi-year revenue funding settlement as well as
capital support for the transition to a zero-emission bus fleet.
Following analysis of government datasets and data obtained from
Freedom of Information requests to all local transport
authorities in England, the new report on the future funding for
buses reveals that:
- National Government support for buses is now £234 million a
year lower than in 2009/10
- Local authority funding for buses is £163 million lower in
real terms compared to ten years ago – a reduction of over 40
percent.
- More than half of local authorities have cut their financial
support for buses by 50 per cent or more since 2009.
- The result has been that well over 3,000 local authority
supported bus services have been lost or reduced in a decade; 243
in the past year.
Darren Shirley, Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport,
said:
"Reductions in funding to support bus services has consequences.
It leads to isolation and social exclusion and hinders access to
employment, education and training as people find it more
difficult and costly to travel. It hampers efforts to tackle air
pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and road congestion.
"The National Bus Strategy offers a chance to turn around the
fortunes of many communities that rely on the bus. The Government
must put in place a new funding settlement that supports and
grows bus networks and delivers social as well as economic and
environmental benefits: we want to see a thriving, affordable
network of buses serving all communities."
The charity is calling for:
- A single, ring-fenced, long-term fund, replacing the Bus
Service Operators Grant and the English National Concessionary
Travel Scheme, aimed at rejuvenating England's bus networks and
supporting concessionary fares.
- Capital support to accelerate the transition to zero emission
buses, including a fleet and depot transition fund and a bus
manufacturing support fund, as well as a 2025 deadline for all
new buses to be only electric or hydrogen-powered.
- New revenue streams for local authorities to support the
growth in public transport, such as Workplace Parking Levies,
Clean Air Zones and a pay-as-you-drive road user charge to
replace Vehicle Excise Duty and fuel duty.
Bus service black spots revealed
The report reveals a number of local areas where cuts in bus
funding have hit particularly hard:
- Of the 96 local authority supported bus routes that were
removed completely in the past year, nearly half were in
Derbyshire and Northamptonshire.
- Counties such as Hertfordshire and North Yorkshire have cut
funding by over £6 million in a decade, reducing their budgets
for supported buses by over 75 per cent.
- Ten local transport authorities now provide no financial
support for buses, including Oxfordshire and Cumbria.
Findings from the analysis from all local authority areas are
included in the report.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Future
of the bus: future funding arrangements can be read
on Campaign for Better Transport's website, where you can also
find a short
media briefing on the report.
