Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what long term investment he is making in community transport infrastructure to support the mobility of elderly and disabled people across the West Midlands.

The Government understands that community transport operators provide vital services particularly for older and disabled people, linking them with their communities, helping take them to shops, work, school, and medical appointments.

Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) is paid annually to operators of community transport services (as well as eligible bus services), to recover fuel costs. Community Transport operators receive approximately £2.3 million BSOG funding per year to support these vital services.

Since January 2014, around £43 million of BSOG is also paid annually to local authorities to support socially necessary bus services that are not commercially viable. In 2020 – 2021, Transport for West Midlands received £ 1,792,259 and Coventry City Council received £58,686 of BSOG funding.

We also continue to make investment in step-free access to railway stations through our Access for All programme across the country, with £350 million provided for this between 2019 and 2024. In the West Midlands, this includes providing an accessible route at Smethwick Rolfe Street station and tactile safety strips on platforms at Wolverhampton.