Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, (1) what criteria will be used to assess bids for funds available in the Bus Strategy for England, (2) whether those criteria will include the relief of congestion, and (3) what plans they have, if any, to increase the funding available.
All Local Transport Authorities in England outside London have published Bus Service Improvement Plans, setting out local visions for transformed bus services. These plans will be assessed against the expectations that we set out in the National Bus Strategy and supporting guidance, including that there should be significant increases in bus priority to tackle congestion and speed up bus services. At the Budget we announced £1.2 billion of new dedicated funding for bus transformation deals and we will say more about how this funding will be allocated in due course.