Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Levelling Up in the East of England report from the East of England APPG and East of England Local Government Association, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing longer-term funding mechanisms for local authorities to support bus services in that region.
The Department for Transport has provided nearly £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding since March 2020 to bus operators and local transport authorities (LTAs) in England outside London to support services and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. The Department for Transport is actively considering its support for the bus sector from April 2023.
In addition to this recovery funding, we provide £42 million annually through the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) directly to LTAs to subsidise socially necessary bus services. We also provide over £200 million directly to bus operators every year through BSOG to help keep fares down and maintain a larger network than would otherwise be possible.