Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much funding his Department provided to bus services in England in 2022.

The Department for Transport has provided nearly £2 billion in emergency and recovery funding since March 2020 to bus operators and local transport authorities in England outside London to support services and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic. £953.4 million of this funding was provided across FY21/22 and FY22/23.

In addition to this recovery funding, we provide £42 million annually through the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG) directly to LTAs to subsidise socially necessary bus services. We also provide over £200 million directly to bus operators every year through BSOG to help keep fares down and maintain a larger network than would otherwise be possible.

Transport in London has different funding arrangements and is devolved to the Mayor of London and it is up to him to decide how to best invest in London’s bus network. The TfL settlement of 30th August 2022 supports almost £3.6 billion worth of projects to secure the long-term future of London’s transport network.