The new £3Bn National Bus Strategy for England, which launched on Monday, also promises more evening and weekend services and simpler fares, in what it describes as “the most ambitious shake up of the bus sector in a generation”.

It pledges an end to the “fragmented and fully commercialised market” which has operated outside London since 1986 and calls on operators and local councils to enter into statutory ‘enhanced partnerships’ or franchising agreements to receive new funding.

From this summer only services under these arrangements will be eligible for continued financial support introduced to support the bus sector during the pandemic, or for any new sources of funding from the £3Bn budget. Later this year the Government will also consult on reforms to the Bus Service Operators Grant to achieve the same objectives.

The strategy sets out a plan for simpler bus fares with daily price caps, allowing passengers to use multiple services in a day without incurring mounting costs. Integrated services and ticketing across different transport modes is another aim, so that people can move more easily between buses and trains.

Other ambitions of the bus strategy include ‘next stop’ announcements on board all buses and hundreds of miles of new bus lanes. Four thousand electric or hydrogen buses are promised to provide cleaner travel, along with an end to the sale of new diesel buses.

The strategy includes examples of the shortfalls of bus service provision in some areas, including one seaside resort where two rival operators publish separate city maps showing only their own services and use the same route numbers for entirely different routes.

Welcoming the bus strategy, the Campaign for Better Transport’s chief executive Paul Tuohy said: “As ever the devil is in the detail, but this is an important step for local buses and – if combined with measures to reduce car use – will help to truly make public transport the first choice for journeys.”

The Local Government Association's transport spokesman Darren Rodwell added: “Councils want to work with Government to make sure every community is able to access a local bus service.”

Bus operator Go Ahead Group’s chief executive David Brown commented: “It’s the right time to have a national strategy for buses. Bus usage has been falling for seven years and if Britain is serious about becoming a carbon neutral nation, we urgently need to halt that decline and persuade people to leave their cars at home.”

But countryside charity CPRE's campaigns director Tom Fyans said the Government’s plans need to show greater ambition. “A one off investment of £3Bn is really just an expensive sticking plaster after a decade of cuts to rural bus services. Our towns and villages need committed, long term funding to deliver a comprehensive bus network for the whole country, with a reliable service for every community.”

Also this week, 17 rural and suburban areas will share £19.4M from the Rural Mobility Fund to trial on demand services – such as a minibus booked via a smartphone app – where traditional bus services are not deemed viable.

The Department for Transport has also announced that 650 staff will relocate to new offices in Birmingham and Leeds. This forms part of the Government’s attempt to move 22,000 civil service roles away from London by 2030. Leeds will also be home to the UK’s new infrastructure bank, announced by the Chancellor earlier this month.

(Photograph: Urban Transport Group)