Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department expects bus usage in (a) England (b) Greater Manchester to return to pre-covid levels.

The Government is committed to helping local leaders improve local bus services and grow usage across England, including in Greater Manchester, whilst recognising that travel patterns have changed since the COVID pandemic. We are taking action to give local leaders the powers they need to deliver better bus services for passengers, including through the Bus Services Act 2025, and empowering them to choose the model that works best in their area, whether that be franchising, strengthened Enhanced Partnerships or local authority bus companies.

We are also investing over £1 billion in 2025/26 to support and improve bus services in England outside London, of which £66.4 million has been allocated to Greater Manchester Combined Authority. This funding can be used to introduce measures to help increase bus usage, for example expanding services and improving reliability.