Up to a third of essential bus routes in the UK may be axed from the end of next month if emergency government funding support is not extended, councils and bus operators have warned.
With current passenger numbers reportedly still short of their pre pandemic levels, the Local Government Association (LGA) has called on the UK government to extend its Bus Recovery Support Grant when it ends in March,.
The Bus Recovery Grant was introduced by the UK Department of Transport (DfT) last year, providing operators and local authorities with £255.5m in funding support due to sharp declines in passenger numbers affecting revenues.
However, the government has yet to clarify if the emergency measure will be extended beyond the end of March, which has led to concerns that 30% of routes will no longer remain viable due to continuing low passenger numbers.
The latest DfT figures show that current bus passenger numbers outside of London are still 26% lower than they were before the pandemic started, despite the lifting of all Covid-19 related restrictions on movement.
Around 33% of all bus journeys, pre pandemic, were made for commuting purposes. However, with commuting levels predicted to continue to remain below March 2020 levels for the foreseeable future, it is unlikely that bus passenger numbers will bounce back quickly,
According to the LGA, extended funding support will enable operators and local authorities to ensure essential routes can stay open and plan for longer term improvements in bus networks.
Cllr David Renard, transport spokesperson for the LGA, said: “Saving bus services is good value for money for the government and the National Bus Strategy as well as for the Treasury as bringing services and passengers back is harder and more expensive. The Bus Recovery Support Grant must be urgently extended beyond the end of March.”
