£5 billion funding allocated to transform UK bus services

In a statement to Parliament, the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, announced £5 billion of new funding to overhaul bus services and cycle links for every region outside London. Johnson set out a vision to level up local transport connections throughout the country, which aim to make daily journeys easier, greener and more convenient.

The package of investment will boost bus services by focusing on a range of priorities, which include:

• Higher frequency services, including evenings and weekends, to make it easier and less restrictive for people to get around at any time of day
• More ‘turn up and go’ routes where, thanks to higher frequency, people will not have to rely on timetables to plan journeys
• New priority schemes which will make routes more efficient, so that buses avoid congested routes and can speed passengers through traffic
• More affordable, simpler fares
• At least 4,000 new zero emission buses to make greener travel the convenient option.

The Department for Transport (DfT) five-year funding package is said to build on the government’s determination to make buses work better for their passengers. The details of these programmes will be announced in the upcoming National Bus Strategy, to be published later in 2020 at the Comprehensive Spending Review, and follows the allocation of £170 million to support more electric buses, increase rural mobility and trial new ‘Superbus’ services.

“Local transport connections have a truly transformative role to play in levelling up infrastructure across the country,” Johnson said.

“Our daily journeys for work or leisure are about so much more than just getting from A to B – they are the key to accessing skilled jobs and opportunities, boosting businesses and unlocking economic growth for towns, cities and regions across this country.

“That’s why improving connectivity by overhauling bus services and making cycling easier than ever is such an important step forward, to make sure every community has the foundations it needs to thrive,” he continued.