The BSOG Plus scheme that is part of longer-term support for buses in England from 1 July will for commercial services use a baseline pence per km payment that is coupled to a pence per litre sum for diesel, biodiesel, bioethanol and used cooking oil; a further pence per km payment for zero-emission vehicles; or a pence per kg remittance for gas.
Above the basic 5.5p per km for all power sources, diesel and those other liquid fuels will attract a further 13.83p per litre consumed. Gas will lead to an additional 7.55p per kg used, while zero-emission buses will gain a further 8.8p per km. Should unleaded petrol be involved, BSOG Plus attracts a 13.06p per litre payment in addition to the baseline.
All the above will be claimed in addition to the established BSOG, which will continue to be paid at existing rates.
For a diesel-powered bus with a fuel consumption of 9mpg, BSOG Plus will represent £9.84 payable per 100km covered above the £10.85 of existing BSOG that is claimed for such a distance, exclusive of any incentive payment(s) for the latter.
For a vehicle that returns 6mpg, BSOG Plus will generate a £12.01 payment over 100km, in addition to the £16.27 from BSOG. The new scheme thus gives a greater relative uplift to more fuel efficient diesel buses. One returning 12mpg will over 100km see BSOG Plus outweigh basic BSOG – paid at 34.57p per litre – at £8.76 against £8.14.
For zero-emission buses, the combined sum payable via both schemes will become 36.3p per km, a combined 65% uplift from the current extent of basic BSOG due for those buses of 22p per km. Such vehicles will thus attract a combined payment of £36.30 per 100km.
While the additional money has been welcomed, and represents up to £70 million for each of the two periods that make up the government’s extended funding landscape to April 2025, one operator has suggested that BSOG Plus could represent a reduction in like-for-like payments from the outgoing Bus Recovery Grant under some circumstances.
Papers released by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority ahead of a meeting on 5 June note that a combination of BSOG Plus, concurrent Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funds – of which it has been allocated £3.15 million as a first-year sum – and local reserves are “insufficient to mitigate against the full extent of all potential network reductions while also simultaneously sustaining fares and concessions initiatives.”
