Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of levels of service on bus networks between September 2021 and April 2022 compared to pre-covid-19 outbreak levels.
To date, the Government has committed over £1 billion in emergency funding to the bus sector through the COVID-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) scheme to help operators and local authorities safely facilitate essential journeys. CBSSG enables Operators to run up to 100% of their pre-Covid scheduled commercial mileage for a typical week excluding public holidays for the period of the scheme.
CBSSG funding has no pre-agreed end date and will continue until it is no longer needed. The Government is working with operators and local authorities to ensure that the transition away from emergency CBSSG funding is timed appropriately. Operators and Local Authorities should continue to work together to agree appropriate service levels in their area.