In October 2021 all Local Transport Authorities in England submitted bids for Government funding to support and improve local bus services. Over £10 billion worth of bus service improvements were identified as part of this process.
Only 2/5 of Councils were successful. 3/5 of Council’s received no funding what so ever. Even those that were successful only received a fraction of the funding that they bid for.
ALDC has produced a couple of Template Council Motions for you to copy and paste below – to call for more adequate funding for bus services in your local area. These form part of a wider campaign pack that you can find here.
The Council Motions can be adapted for your area with local statistics on bus funding and passenger numbers. You can find the local figures for your area using the links below:
- The list of Councils that received no funding can be found at the bottom of this article here.
- The list of Council’s that did receive funding, and the shortfall between that and amount they bid for, can be found in this document from the Campaign for Better Transport.
- Bus passenger statistics for each Local Authority area can be found here.
Template Council Motion for areas that received No Funding
Council strongly believes local bus services are vital to the wellbeing of local residents in [AREA NAME]. Bus services are a lifeline for many local people. For some the bus is the only means to travel to work, school, appointments, shops and to meet friends and family.
Council re-affirms our commitment to protecting and improving our local bus services.
Council notes the decline in bus service provision in England over the past decade – which has seen nearly 5000 bus routes lost nationwide and a 27% reduction in the number of bus journeys taken.
This situation was further worsened by the Covid-19 Pandemic that saw bus passenger numbers in [LOCAL COUNCIL AREA] decline by XX%. Bus patronage has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and many routes have been kept viable by emergency funding that, though extended through the Autumn, could then end at any time.
In October 2021 [COUNCIL NAME], alongside all other Local Transport Authorities, submitted a funding bid for a ‘Bus Service Improvement Plan’ to improve and protect local bus services. Despite encouraging all Councils to bid, and receiving costs bids that totalled £10 billion, the Government only made £1 billion of funding available. Much more had been promised.
Because of the Government’s broken promises our area received no funding at all.
Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to call on the Government to:
- Make the full £10 billion funding, required to implement each Local Authorities transport plans, available by re-allocating at least one-fifth of the £27 billion Roads Investment Budget to public transport investment.
- Move away from the competitive funding model for public transport improvement grants and instead provide the full funding required for all Council areas to receive the grants they need to transform and protect bus services.
- Dedicate a greater proportion of grant funding to revenue support – so funds can directly boost service provision and address fare prices and affordability.
Council further refers the issue of the failed bid for a Bus Service Improvement Grant to the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee – so recommendations can be provided to increase the success of future bids.
Council further requests a Scrutiny Report is produced to progress options to form Enhanced Partnerships with local bus operators and for this report to be presented to Council in no more than three months time.
Template Council Motion for areas that received Some Funding
Council firmly believes local bus services are vital to the wellbeing of local residents in [AREA NAME]. Bus services are a lifeline for many local people. For some the bus is the only means to travel to work, school, appointments, shops and to meet friends and family.
Council re-affirms our commitment to protecting and improving our local bus services.
Council notes the decline in bus service provision in England over the past decade – which has seen nearly 5000 bus routes lost nationwide and a 27% reduction in the number of bus journeys taken.
This situation was further worsened by the Covid-19 Pandemic that saw bus passenger numbers in [LOCAL COUNCIL AREA] decline by [XX%]. Bus patronage has still not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and many routes have been kept viable by emergency funding that, though extended through the Autumn, could then end at any time.
In October 2021 [COUNCIL NAME], alongside all other Local Transport Authorities, submitted a funding bid for a ‘Bus Service Improvement Plan’ to improve and protect local bus services. Despite encouraging all Councils to bid, and receiving bids that totalled more than£10 billion, the Government only made £1 billion of funding available. Much less than promised.
Because of the Government’s broken promises our area only received [£XX million] despite identifying [£XX million] required to implement our full Bus Service Improvement Plan. Council strongly believes we need the full funding required so all aspects of our Bus Strategy can be implemented.
Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to call on the Government to:
- Make the full £10 billion funding, required to implement our transport plan in full, available by re-allocating at least one-fifth of the £27 billion Roads Investment Budget to public transport investment.
- Move away from the competitive funding model for public transport improvement grants and instead provide the full funding required for all Council areas to receive the grants they need to transform and protect bus services.
- Dedicate a greater proportion of grant funding to revenue support – so funds can directly boost service provision and address fare prices and affordability.
Council further refers the issue to Scrutiny for a report to be produced to progress options to form Enhanced Partnerships with local bus operators and for this report to be presented to Council in no more than three months time.