The Government has announced £3billion of funding, which it says will improve bus journeys for millions of passengers. The cash, provided over multiple years, will be allocated to local authorities, which will then choose how to spend it. Benefits could include lower fares, more frequent and reliable services and safer journeys, officials say. Labour’s buses and roads minister Simon Lightwood told the Express that the money could be used to improve rural links in particular.
When asked which areas of the country he thought needed the investment most, he said: “This is about making sure that the money goes throughout the country, actually. Under previous governments, they tended to do these funding rounds as competitions. So it was almost like the Hunger Games, where areas being pitted against each other. What we’ve done and changed with this Government is to put in place a more formula-based approach, so that areas across the country are being given this money.”
Mr Lightwood said the funding has been allocated according to the local population, bus mileage and rurality.
“We’re acutely conscious that some of our more rural areas have been hit,” he added.
“So this is about fairness, really, and moving that into a more sustainable and fairer model for funding in the future.”
Regional funding breakdown
- North East – £100.7million
- North West – £373.4million
- Yorkshire and Humber – £231.9million
- East Midlands – £157.4million
- West Midlands – £264.1million
- East of England – £309million
- South East – £369million
- South West – £245.9million
In the summer, the National Audit Office reported that gaps in local authority bus capacity and capability are a “critical risk”, with 46% rating their capacity to deliver local transport “fairly poor” or “very poor”.
It added that bus services in England had not recovered to pre-COVID levels, which were already in decline.
The report also specified that the total number of bus journeys was down by 9% in 2023-24, compared to 2019-20.
“The £2 bus fare cap introduced in 2023 contributed to an estimated 5% increase in bus usage but did not address other barriers to choosing buses, such as poor frequency or reliability,” officials wrote.
The Government introduced a £3 bus fare cap in January 2025, which is due to end in March 2027.
Alongside the £3 billion boost, the Government is also announcing a £3 million Bus Franchising Fund.
This will help Mayoral Combined Authorities with the costs of franchising their bus services, a model that has already been adopted in areas like Greater Manchester.
The Department for Transport said: “Today’s announcement is part of the Government’s wider commitment to making public transport cheaper and more reliable, bearing down on the cost of living for working people.
“Freezing rail fares for the first time in 30 years will save commuters on more expensive routes more than £300 per year, meaning they keep more of their hard-earned cash.
“The Government is also reforming the railways through Great British Railways, which will bring fares and ticketing into the 21st century with tap-in/tap-out and digital ticketing, delivering better value for money for passengers.”