Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the provision of bus services serving Kirklees.

The bus market outside London is deregulated and decisions regarding service provision are primarily a commercial matter for bus operators. However, the Bus Services Act 2017 provides the tools local authorities need to improve local bus services and increase passenger numbers.

Of the £30 million of additional funding announced to improve current services and restoring lost services, West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been allocated £1,086,414 which will be available from April 2020 if the funding requirements are met.

This is from the £220 million Better Deal for Bus Users package to transform bus services. The Government’s ambition is to secure a long term, sustained improvement in bus services underpinned by a National Bus Strategy for England which will be accompanied by a long-term funding settlement.

Announced last week there will be £5billion of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for every region outside London which may benefit bus services serving Kirklees.