Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to help incentivise bus operators to take on routes that other bus companies have withdrawn from.

The Government recognises the challenges facing the bus sector at present, and regularly engages with operators to understand the impact these challenges are having on their networks. The majority of bus services in England outside London are run on a commercial basis and decisions relating to the withdrawal of these services are for bus operators to make.

The Government has made available nearly £2 billion since March 2020, through emergency and recovery grants, to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the bus sector. This support is currently in place until the end of March 2023. The Department is actively considering its support for the bus sector from April 2023 and will set out further details shortly.

The Government already provides around £250 million annually to support bus services through the Bus Service Operators Grant, and supports spending of around £1 billion a year so that older and disabled people can travel on buses throughout England for free.