Campaign success! Bus funding extended

Hello

I'm very pleased to tell you that our campaign to get the Government to extend vital funding for buses has been successful!

If you were one of the thousands of people who emailed the Chancellor, thank you. With your help, and together with allies including Bus Users and Transport Action Network, we've helped save buses from a funding cliff-edge that could have seen almost a third of services lost.

Pandemic recovery funding for buses in England was due to end next month, although passenger numbers are still not back to normal. The Confederation of Passenger Transport warned that bus services could be cut by 30 per cent. But at the last moment, after our campaign, the Government agreed to extend the funding till October, with an extra £150 million for buses and light rail. 

A huge thank you to everyone who helped win this brilliant success. Buses are so important to so many people, and the feeling of relief is clear in these news reports from Bristol and Doncaster, where routes that were under threat now face a more hopeful future. But the Government has warned that this is the last package of recovery funding. What's needed now is for more people to leave their cars at home and catch the great, green, traffic-busting, planet-protecting, people-connecting bus! Spread the word!

Rail fares: a different picture

The news about the cost of rail travel is not so good. Many rail fares, including season tickets, rose by 3.8 per cent this week - the highest annual jump for years. There's more info in our blog. 

The fare rise will do nothing to ease the cost-of-living crisis, it will do nothing to help the economy, and it will do nothing to tackle climate change. 

It came after a report from Clean Cities Campaign put London, Greater Manchester and Birmingham at the bottom of a European league table for affordable public transport. Residents must fork out 8-10 per cent of their household budget on travel, compared to just two per cent in Oslo.

The green travel option - public transport - should always be the affordable choice. We'll keep campaigning, with your help.

Thank you - goodbye till next time

Paul

Paul Tuohy
Chief Executive, Campaign for Better Transport