Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to develop public transport infrastructure in rural areas; and what assessment they have made of the impact this will have on the mental health of people living in rural communities.

We are providing £300m funding for buses until April 2025. £150m will be available from July 23 to March 24, and a further £150m from April 24 to March 25.

Almost half of the additional funding will be provided to bus operators based on the distance of the routes that they operate. This will allow us to focus funding on longer routes, such as those in rural areas, where some services are less likely to be commercially sustainable without additional funding.

In 2021, we launched a £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) to trial more demand responsive minibus services in rural and suburban areas. 16 pilots are taking place across 15 different local authorities, including one in Warwickshire. The RMF provides us with an opportunity to better understand the challenges associated with introducing bookable bus services in rural and suburban settings.

Through our Tackling Loneliness with Transport fund, we’ve supported twelve projects with over £5 million of investment targeted at those most likely to suffer from loneliness.

Findings from these pilot schemes are being evaluated and will be used to build an evidence base which will inform how future transport schemes can contribute to reducing loneliness in communities.