"£1 billion" government funding boost for bus services across England

The Department for Transport (DfT) has given more details on its plans for 2025 after announcing the funding last month. Marking a further step in the government’s mission to deliver growth across the UK, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has confirmed £712 million funding for local authorities to improve bus services, and a further £243 million for bus operators – a long-standing grant paid to keep fares lower and services more frequent than they would otherwise be.

Included in this funding, £151 million will support England’s single bus fare cap, which will increase from £2 to £3 at the end of this year.

Further details are available from the DfT site.

The DfT has promised to deliver what it calls "London-style" services to every corner of the country, and said funding would be allocated based on levels of deprivation and population, instead of making areas compete for investment as it has in previous years.

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

Says the DfT: "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", says DfT,  for bus services include Leicester, the Isle of Wight, Torbay, and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.