Tuesday 5 April 2022

Buses outside London to get £7bn investment

The government has announced £7 billion will be made available to boost UK transport, making it more reliable and greener.

Two-thirds of England’s population outside of London will benefit from the investment to make transport either more frequent, reliable, cheaper or greener.

Areas have been chosen based on their ambition to increase bus usage, make the bus the go-to for local residents and cut down car use.

Portsmouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Liverpool, Reading, Norfolk and Luton are some of the areas that have been selected.

Cornwall is the first area for investment to be piloted, receiving £23.5 million next week.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Buses are the most popular way of getting around in this country – but for too long people outside of London have had a raw deal.

“The investment we’re making today to ramp up the bus revolution will drive down fares at a time when people’s finances are tight and help connect communities across England.”