New figures reveal bus funding winners and losers as National Bus Strategy turns three

Figures released today (15 March) reveal a shocking state of ‘winners and losers’ when it comes to Government bus funding with up to £230 per head difference between local authority areas.  

Analysis by Campaign for Better Transport has revealed a striking imbalance across the country with 12 councils receiving over £50 per head to improve bus services from central government, compared to 15 councils that have received less than £6 per head. At the top end, Portsmouth City Council received £235.76 per head in government bus funding, while Swindon Council received just £3.98 per head.  

The figures have been released on the third anniversary of the publication of Bus Back Better, the Government’s national bus strategy for England which was meant to address the decline in local buses and provide £3 billion in funding to improve services across the country.  

But with buses still in decline and funding unevenly spread between areas, Campaign for Better Transport is calling for reforms to bus funding to help realise the ambitions of the national bus strategy and ensure all areas receive the funds they need.  

Silviya Barrett from charity Campaign for Better Transport, said: 

“We are now three years on from the admirable ambitions published in Bus Back Better, and while improvements have been made in places, local authorities are still being let down when it comes to funding. Despite having the powers to improve bus services, many are still left without the funds to do so.  

“By asking areas to compete for bus funding, it is inevitable that there will be winners and losers with passengers suffering as a result. It’s time to change the way buses are funded, so that no matter where you live, your bus services can be protected and improved.” 

More than a year after Bus Back Better was published, the Government invited local authorities to bid for a share of £1.1 billion in Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding to help improve bus services in their areas. Thirty-one local authorities were initially successful but were awarded less than they had applied for. Almost two thirds received nothing, with smaller, rural county councils losing out to larger combined authorities with more experienced transport teams. For 2023-2025, all local authorities who had originally been unsuccessful received a cut of additional funding (BSIP +), but these sums were smaller. 

An additional £1bn of bus funding was made available through ‘Network North’, a £36bn pot reallocated from the cancellation of HS2 north of Birmingham. Only councils in the North and Midlands were eligible for this, meaning authorities in the East, South East and South West missed out. £150 million of this has so far been allocated. 

With buses still in decline — in the year ending March 2023, bus provision fell by five per cent — to help realise the ambitions of Bus Back Better and restore local bus networks, Campaign for Better Transport is calling for: 

• The current competitive system of bus funding to be replaced with a single, long-term funding pot for all  

• Commitment to guarantee minimum levels of bus service provision for all communities, with the funding allocations to match 

• Ringfenced bus funding to ensure it is not reallocated to other local authority priorities. 

ENDS  

Notes to Editors:

• View list of Local Authority bus funding per head. 

• To calculate the allocations per head, our analysis combined the allocations announced on gov.uk from the following funding sources and divided the sum by the population of that local authority area: Original BSIP (2022 to 2025), BSIP+ (2023/24 and 2024/25), the initial £150 million funding covering 2024/25 allocated from a total of £1 billion dedicated for buses from Network North for northern and midlands authorities only. 

• An additional £4.7 billion from Network North was allocated towards a Local Transport Fund over 7 years from 2025/26 until 2031/32. This can be spent on any local transport including buses or roads and eligibility is again limited to authorities in the north and midlands. We have not included this in our calculations; to include it would have significantly further increased the inequality between areas. 

• The Government published its long-awaited national strategy for buses, Bus Back Better, on 15 March 2021. 

• Read the Government’s annual bus statistics for the year ending March 2023.  

• The Department for Transport is responsible for transport funding, but some local authority core grant allocated by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities can be used for buses. Yet, as, it is not ringfenced, it can be spent on other local authority services instead. 

• In April 2022, the Government announcement that 31 local authorities – 40 per cent of all authorities which submitted Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs) – would benefit from a slice of the £1.1 billion in funding to improve bus services in their areas. 

• Campaign for Better Transport operates in England and Wales. Campaign for Better Transport’s vision is for all communities to have access to high quality, sustainable transport that meets their needs, improves quality of life and protects the environment. Campaign for Better Transport Charitable Trust is a registered charity (1101929).