Government Rejects £58m Bid To Transform Bus Services

A major bid to help transform bus services across Leicestershire has been rejected by the government.

Ministers have turned down the entirety of the County Council’s £58m bid, which would have helped pay for a raft of improvements aimed at encouraging more people to use buses.

It would also have helped to secure the future of subsidised routes, including those serving Market Harborough and surrounding villages.

The Market Harborough town service is one subsidised by the County Council

The authority says it’s extremely disappointed to receive no cash towards its Bus Service Improvement Plan, particularly as there has been a big drop in passenger numbers since the start of the pandemic.

Cllr Kevin Feltham from Kibworth represents the Gartree ward and spoke to Hfm:

Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet lead member for highways and transport, said: “Once again, we’re extremely disappointed that Leicestershire has been overlooked in a bid for Government transport funding.

“The announcement that we’ll receive no Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) money is a blow because bus services in the county have suffered during the pandemic and support from the Government is vital if we are to protect and improve them.

“Although our bid was a strong one, demand for funding by other councils considerably outstripped the pot of money available. The Government has advised us to bid again once more funding becomes available.

“We’re far from alone in being turned down. Only 31 of the 79 BSIP bids by councils were funded and we have missed out alongside other rural authorities such as Lincolnshire, Cumbria and Suffolk.”

The Council has now asked the Department of Transport to explain why the bid was rejected and raised the decision with county’s MPs.

Northamptonshire councils also received no money towards their plans to improve bus services.

A spokesperson for the Department of Transport told Hfm: “The successful areas have been chosen because of their ambition to repeat the success achieved in London – which drove up bus usage and made the bus a natural choice for everyone, not just those without cars.

“As the Government stated in last year’s national bus strategy, Bus Back Better, areas not showing sufficient ambition, including for improvements to bus priority, would not be funded.”