A new Transport Committee report has warned that a decade of shrinking bus networks in England has left many towns and villages cut off, and calls on the Government to adopt a national ambition for minimum public transport connectivity by 2028–29.
The report highlights that bus use outside London has fallen from 4.6 billion journeys in 2009 to 3.6 billion in 2024, a 21.7% decline. Between 2019 and 2024, services in county and unitary areas dropped by an average of 18%, while the countryside charity CPRE reported that 56% of small towns are now ‘transport deserts.’
Public funding for buses declined steadily for a decade before the pandemic temporarily boosted subsidies. Funding has since been cut back to near pre-pandemic levels.
Despite this downturn, buses remain the most-used form of public transport in England, contributing an estimated £39.1 billion annually to local economies and supporting £72 billion in commuter income.
Cuts to ‘socially necessary’ routes – those linking communities to hospitals, schools, and other vital services – have left many residents, particularly the elderly and those without cars, isolated. In one example given to the Committee, a woman in her seventies from Dorset said the loss of all her local buses had made her more ‘isolated, lonely and depressed.’
The Committee recommends that the Government ringfence part of the funding it allocates to councils to ensure socially necessary routes are protected. It also urges the adoption of a national target for minimum connectivity, allowing councils to decide whether to meet it with conventional bus services or alternatives such as demand-responsive transport.
The report also calls for a coherent national approach to youth concessions, including a pilot of free bus travel for under-22s, and a clear long-term strategy for bus fares.
Concerning the hot topic of franchising, Transport Committee Chair Ruth Cadbury MP said: ‘Franchising works for London and Manchester but is unlikely to be a silver bullet for the rest of the country. Many local councils’ workforces now lack the skills and capacity to suddenly start overseeing bus services. We therefore say that the Bus Centre of Excellence should be expanded to provide more targeted support and training.’
The report also says rural areas need greater funding support, including a reformed Bus Service Operators Grant based on passenger journeys rather than fuel use, to reflect higher operating costs in sparsely populated regions.
Without these changes, MPs say, England risks worsening isolation, economic harm and a continued decline in its most-used public transport mode.
In response to the report, an LGA spokesperson said: ‘Bus services provide an essential mode of public transport in local communities, relied upon by millions of people, and councils take their commitment to provide bus services seriously.
‘We are pleased the Government has listened to the LGA and councils and extended the bus fare cap to the end of 2025, although the fare increase will impact passengers. More work is needed to attract them back onto buses to ensure services are sustainable for our communities. Stop-start funding risks losing passengers, with patronage difficult to recover if and when money is found.
‘As this report sets out, the challenges facing public transport are significant, and in order to increase the number of journeys taken and coverage of services, particularly in rural areas, there needs to be sufficient, simplified and long-term funding. This includes any new requirements, such as providing a minimum level of service or extension of ENCTS, which is already underfunded.’
Leave a Reply