Lancashire County Council is set to receive over £25m in funding for bus service improvements in 2025/6.
The sum was revealed today by the Department for Transport press along with details of grants totalling £955m across England. £243m of that sum will be paid to bus operators as part of a long-standing grant that was originally designed to compensate them for the duty paid on bus fuel, with the remaining £712m being paid to local authorities to improve services.
Lancashire’s allocation the largest of all non-metropolitan or combined authority areas and it follows £34m received to implement the Bus Service Improvement Plan for the three year period ending in March next year. As the £25m is intended just for one financial year it represents a considerable uplift. The funding is split almost 50/50 between “capital” (for things such as bus lanes, bus stop improvements, real time information etc) and “revenue” (to support non-profitable bus services).
The investment has been designated to enhance popular routes, protect rural services and increase bus use for shopping, socialising and commuting. It will prevent service reductions on at-risk routes and the Department for Transport claims it will improve punctuality across England, to bring an end to the current postcode lottery of unreliable services.
Change to basis of funding
In recent years, said a spokesperson, services have consistently suffered from complicated and inconsistent funding, which has ultimately impacted the passenger. Today’s reformed funding settlement marks a departure from that approach with a simplified commitment from the government, giving bus providers the certainty they have long been calling for.
As part of this investment, the way funding is allocated has been reformed, meaning it will be allocated based on place need, levels of deprivation and population. This will stop areas competing for funding as in previous years, which in turn wastes resources and delays decisions.
Jim Davies, Chair of the Bus Users’ Group said:
“Although the change away from competitive bidding to a systematic analysis of needs approach is welcome, the grant is only for one year. Therefore the “certainty” offered to bus providers is limited. Assuming the government intends to continue funding these improvements we would like to see that certainty extended for several years ahead in any future announcements”
£3 Fare Cap
Alongside the £955 million, £150 million has already been committed to step in and cap fares at a maximum of £3, with an inflationary limit also set to ensure that other fares are not automatically increased to £3. The cap is designed to help people with the cost of living and everyday travel costs and will now run until 31 December 2025, enabling savings of up to 80% on some routes.
What will it mean for Lancaster?
Because the funding has been allocated without the need for a bid from local authorities, it is unclear how they intend to spend it at this stage, but council officer, Matthew Moll, who manages the Enhanced Partnership between Lancashire County Council and the area’s bus companies will be speaking at the next meeting of the Bus Users’ Group on Thursday, 21st November (13.30hrs at Lancaster library) when it is hoped he can give us an update on plans.
Lancaster Bus Users' Group 