Bus passengers warned one in seven services could be cut without more support

The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) urged Ministers to provide long-term support for the sector and claimed passengers are “clearly worried” about service cuts.

The Government has provided more than £2bn to help operators across the country protect bus services during the pandemic, but its current support scheme is due to expire at the end of June.

Operators planning to cancel or change routes are required to give six weeks’ notice, meaning they want a new agreement by Friday.

Many have cut services in recents months, despite the Government support, because they are struggling with high fuel costs, inflation and a drop in passenger demand, which has returned to around 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

A survey of 2,050 people, commissioned by CPT, indicated that 59 per cent of bus users are worried about increased travel costs and being disconnected from work and leisure opportunities.

The results of the poll also suggested that 68 per cent of low earners are anxious about how they would get to work if local bus services were cut.

The CPT warned that 15 per cent of services in England could be axed if the Government’s bus recovery grant is not continued or replaced.

It believes £260m a year would allow operators and local authorities to maintain services.

CPT Chief Executive Graham Vidler said: “With over a million people travelling to work every day by bus, we know how important buses are to levelling up communities by keeping them connected to the jobs market.

“With the risk of service reductions looming, this new research shows that people are clearly worried about getting to work as well as having to spend more by travelling by car or being cut off all together.”

It comes after two bus companies in Yorkshire revealed their profits “significantly decreased” last year because their Government funding was cut and warned they may have to axe more services in the coming months.

First South Yorkshire recorded an operating profit of £0.7m in the year ending March 2022, down from £8m the previous year. First West Yorkshire saw profits fall from £8.5m to £4m over the same period.

In April last year, the Department for Transport announced £1.1bn to support bus service improvement plans in 31 areas of the country, including two in Yorkshire.

Council leaders and city region mayors were then invited to submit bids for funding and outline their plans to make services cheaper, greener, more frequent and more reliable.

However, only 40 per cent of bids were successful and the winners “received a fraction of what they needed", an investigation by Parliament’s Transport Committee found.

A Government spokeswoman said: “Since March 2020, we’ve invested over £2bn to maintain bus routes, including a further £80m to continue protecting vital bus routes until the end of June.

“To help with the cost of living as well as encourage more people back onto buses, we have also capped single tickets at £2 until the end of June, and allocated more than £1bn to improve services across England. We’ll set out future steps in due course.”