Ministers have pledged to deliver more ‘London-style’ buses across England as part of a £1 billion funding boost.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh confirmed £712million for local authorities and £243million for bus operators to overhaul services across the country.
Leicester, the Isle of Wight, and Torbay are among the areas set to receive ‘unprecedented’ levels of funding, according to the Department for Transport.
South Yorkshire and Liverpool City region are also among the largest beneficiaries.
Funds have been allocated based on levels of deprivation and population size, instead of areas competing for investment as they have done in the past.
Ms Haigh said:‘Buses are the lifeblood of communities, but the system is broken.
‘Too often, passengers are left waiting hours for buses that don’t turn up – and some have been cut off altogether.
‘That’s why we’re reforming funding to deliver better buses across the country and end the postcode lottery of bus services.’
The announcement comes as Labour was criticised for scrapping the £2 bus fare cap introduced in 2022 by the previous Conservative administration.
The Liberal Democrats have branded the move a ‘bus tax’, while the Tories say it is a stealth levy on working people.
Shadow Transport Secretary Gareth Bacon said last night: ‘Labour have chosen to increase bus fares by 50 per cent in a further attack on rural communities, working people and pensioners.
‘They didn’t have the courage to tell people their plans in the election. This is another broken promise that raises costs on working people.’
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey added: ‘The fare cap increase is like a bus tax for people across the country, impacting bus users and commuters already struggling to make ends meet.’
Ms Haigh has said a new £3 cap will protect the most vulnerable while the government improves reliability and frequency of buses for the country’s 3.4 million regular users.
‘This unprecedented level of funding, particularly into rural areas, will vastly improve services, their reliability and frequency,’ she told the BBC yesterday.
‘We are keeping fares at a level that will protect those services in rural areas. It’s not an option for too many people and too many towns and villages are completely cut off from public transport at the moment.’
She told The Sunday Mirror: ‘This represents record capital investment to the majority of places and a once-in-a-generation reform plan that aims to deliver London-style buses to every corner of the country – including those areas that are usually overlooked.’
The £1billion funding drive is in addition to £150million spent to cap single bus fares at £3 outside of London until next December.
