By Tom Austin-Morgan

The most recent bus funding announcement comes against a backdrop of declining passenger journeys and financial uncertainty for operators, highlighted in a recent National Audit Office (NAO) report. The NAO found that, “Despite significant investment from government, these [improved bus services] are not yet being achieved.” It also acknowledged the important role that is, and should, be played by the Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE).

The Transport Committee has also called for change, urging ministers to introduce five-year funding to provide stability. 

Stelios Rodoulis, BCoE Head, emphasised that the new investment is being directed across a wide range of priorities. 

“Number one is service expansion and enhancement,” Rodoulis explains. “This might mean completely new routes or extending current routes to enable health care and educational prospects. If you live outside a major city in the UK, how to get to hospital or college is so important. Increasing service frequencies is also important; if you want to increase bus demand and patronage, the easiest way to do it is improve frequencies to every 15 minutes as this is seen as a ‘turn-up-and-go service’.”

Funding will also target fleet and depot modernisation, particularly the roll-out of zero-emission buses, as well as bus priority measures.

According to Rodoulis: “The cost-benefit analysis multiplies enormously by installing bus priority measures because they make bus services faster and more reliable, which is a major thing to achieve.”

Accessibility, limited mobility and integration

Other areas identified for investment include improvements to bus stops and stations, with accessibility a key focus. Enhancements will address the needs of passengers with limited mobility, wheelchair users, and those with sensory or cognitive impairments. Better access to information, both at stops and on board, is also part of the plan. Integration is another priority, with simplified ticketing outside metropolitan areas and more widespread real-time information systems expected to benefit passengers.

Importantly, funding allocations will be tailored to the differing needs of urban and rural areas. 

Rodoulis says: “The budget and potential improvements are going to be different between rural and urban areas according to the needs in those specific areas. It is important to make rural areas more accessible and connected.”

While the £900m annual funding is a significant step, both the NAO and Transport Committee stressed that lasting change requires long-term certainty.

Rodoulis agrees that stability is key. “So far, in the deregulated era, the funding from central government for buses has been provided on an annual basis and always subject to change. In general, the bus sector has been calling for five-year funding settlements to effectively plan bus reform in the long term,” he explains.

Expectations around delivery will also need careful management. As Rodoulis cautions: “The bus sector is called to deliver improvements in the very short-term and that is generally hard to achieve. Realistically, bus reforms will take years to be put in place and longer for the bus demand to be generated to make the bus network more sustainable.”

Discover more about the Bus Centre of Excellence.