Peter Lazenby
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BUS services will become even worse, with as many as one in seven routes cancelled if government funding ends on schedule at the end of June, campaigners have warned.
Government funding was stepped up during the Covid-19 pandemic when passenger numbers plummeted, but the cash runs out in six weeks.
Services have already been severely depleted through privatisation, leaving some rural communities with few if any services.
Now the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) warns that more cuts could follow.
CPT chief executive Graham Vidler said more than a million people travel to work by bus every day and called on the government to back buses for the long term.
Norman Baker, from the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “To avoid buses tumbling over a funding cliff edge at the end of June, a robust scheme of financial support must be put in place, with ring-fenced funding for local authorities so they can work with bus operators to support services long-term.
“The £2 bus fare cap should also be extended to help boost passenger numbers.”
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said: “In a cost-of-living and climate crisis, our bus services are vital to keep Britain moving.
“Communities need action but the Tories’ have no plan, and their broken bus system is failing millions.”
She promised “the biggest reform of bus services in a generation,” with control given back to communities if Labour is elected.
Unite national officer for passenger transport Bobby Morton, who represents tens of thousands of bus workers, warned: “Any reduction in the UK’s bus network would be an absolute disaster.”
The Department for Transport said it will set out future steps in due course.
