The 64 local transport authorities (LTAs) in England that gained Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP Plus) allocations during the current financial year will receive the same sums for 2024/25, the Department for Transport (DfT) has confirmed.
£80 million is again allocated. Adopting a repeat payment approach for BSIP Plus continues to mean that some LTAs will receive nothing from the scheme, although all in that category were previously awarded money from the earlier Bus Service Improvement Plan work.
BSIP Plus forms part of the government’s longer-term approach to bus funding. It may be used by LTAs either to improve services, or support and protect existing provision, but existing bus budgets must be maintained as a condition of receiving the funding.
In announcing the allocation, DfT notes that while responsibility for “an adequate provision of bus routes” sits with operators and LTAs, the government “continues to work closely with the sector to support local areas in dealing with changing travel patterns while managing pressures on the taxpayer.”
First Bus quickly gave the second tranche of BSIP Plus allocations a cautious welcome. Managing Director Janette Bell says that the certainty is appreciated, and that First “looks forward to working together with our local authority partners to deliver the best services possible for our customers.”
The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) responded similarly. Director of Policy and Research Silviya Barrett agrees that the funding certainty is welcome, but she adds that CBT hopes “that this is just the start of ongoing investment in bus networks across the country.”
An uplift from the 63 LTAs in the earlier listing is accounted for by the separation of the amount allocated to the now defunct Cumbria County Council. It has been replaced by inclusion of its two successors, Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council.
LTA allocations via the first BSIP Plus round can be found here. Total allocations across the two periods are as follows; any authority not mentioned will not receive funding from the scheme:
Bedford Borough Council: £1,093,514
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council: £940,342
Blackpool Council: £1,012,976
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council: £1,235,022
Bracknell Forest Council: £651,432
Buckinghamshire Council: £2,620,666
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority: £4,628,344
Central Bedfordshire Council: £700,914
Cheshire East Council: £2,375,192
Cheshire West and Chester Council: £2,582,142
Cornwall Council: £3,938,324
Cumberland Council: £929,486
Derby City Council: £647,212
Devon County Council: £3,354,786
Dorset Council: £1,768,442
East Riding of Yorkshire Council: £2,283,152
Essex County Council: £9,781,952
Gloucestershire County Council: £4,419,246
Hampshire County Council: £7,158,924
Herefordshire Council: £1,904,074
Hertfordshire County Council: £2,976,762
Hull City Council: £1,513,060
Isle of Wight Council: £580,050
Kent County Council: £4,602,794
Lancashire County Council: £4,494,354
Leicester City Council: £1,454,578
Leicestershire County Council: £3,577,028
Lincolnshire County Council: £4,240,560
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority: £6,238,236
Medway Council: £1,537,560
Milton Keynes City Council: £1,308,386
North East Lincolnshire Council: £560,256
North Lincolnshire Council: £1,094,758
North Northamptonshire Council: £1,138,824
North Yorkshire Council: £2,927,376
Nottingham City Council: £890,044
Nottinghamshire County Council: £2,420,856
Oxfordshire County Council: £1,927,482
Plymouth City Council: £1,633,126
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead: £874,232
Rutland County Council: £506,560
Shropshire Council: £2,980,984
Slough Borough Council: £686,534
Somerset Council: £1,474,158
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority: £6,302,706
Southampton City Council: £1,279,150
Southend-on-Sea City Council: £958,500
Staffordshire County Council: £2,655,346
Suffolk County Council: £3,756,854
Surrey County Council: £7,847,844
Swindon Borough Council: £831,660
Tees Valley Combined Authority: £3,058,954
Telford and Wrekin Council: £1,301,876
Thurrock Council: £865,714
Torbay Council: £807,846
Warwickshire County Council: £4,144,496
West Berkshire Council: £478,078
West Northamptonshire Council: £1,374,218
West Sussex County Council: £2,204,800
West Yorkshire Combined Authority: £7,750,442
Westmorland and Furness Council: £824,260
Wiltshire Council: £4,230,538
Wokingham Borough Council: £802,644
Worcestershire County Council: £2,859,372.
