Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the bus and coach industries during the covid-19 outbreak.

On 8 August, the Department for Transport announced funding at up to £27.3 million per week to support the bus sector, through the Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) Restart scheme, until a time when the funding is no longer needed. CBSSG Restart funding also covers costs for essential PPE such as hand sanitiser and protective screens for drivers’ cabs.

This is in addition to the £397 million the Government announced on 3 April 2020 so that England’s buses will continue to serve those who rely on them, and the £254 million announced on 23 May to support services returning to 100% service levels.

The Government has announced several measures available to UK businesses, including the coach sector, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

The Department of Education (DfE) has announced over £70 million to local transport authorities to provide dedicated, additional capacity in our transport system, helping students journey to and from their schools and colleges whilst social distancing reduces the capacity of existing public transport. This has been provided in two tranches that were announced on 8 August date and 14 October and will provide additional capacity to the end of the autumn term.