By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.
Accept
routeonerouteonerouteone
  • News
    • Show all
    • Awards & Events
    • Deliveries
    • Environment
    • Exhibitor News
    • Euro Bus Expo 2024
    • Features
    • Legal
    • Minibus and minicoach
    • Operators
    • Opinion
    • People
    • Suppliers
    • Vehicles
  • Vehicles
    • Find a Vehicle
    • ZEV Comparison Tool
    • Sell a Vehicle
    • Vehicle Seller Dashboard
  • Insights
  • Careers
  • Events
    • British Tourism & Travel Show
    • Euro Bus Expo
    • Innovation Challenge
    • Livery Competition
    • routeone Awards
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • Share your news
    • Subscribe
    • Update Subscription Details
  • Latest Issue
  • SIGN UP
Search
© 2024 routeone News. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Early details of £254m package for buses in England revealed
Share
Font ResizerAa
routeonerouteone
Font ResizerAa
Search
  • News
    • Show all
    • Awards & Events
    • Deliveries
    • Environment
    • Exhibitor News
    • Euro Bus Expo 2024
    • Features
    • Legal
    • Minibus and minicoach
    • Operators
    • Opinion
    • People
    • Suppliers
    • Vehicles
  • Vehicles
    • Find a Vehicle
    • ZEV Comparison Tool
    • Sell a Vehicle
    • Vehicle Seller Dashboard
  • Insights
  • Careers
  • Events
    • British Tourism & Travel Show
    • Euro Bus Expo
    • Innovation Challenge
    • Livery Competition
    • routeone Awards
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • Share your news
    • Subscribe
    • Update Subscription Details
  • Latest Issue
  • SIGN UP
Follow US
© 2024 routeone News | Powered by Diversified Business Communications UK Ltd
- Advertisement -
-
routeone > News > Early details of £254m package for buses in England revealed
NewsTop Story

Early details of £254m package for buses in England revealed

Tim Deakin
Tim Deakin
Published: May 25, 2020
Share
SHARE

Buses in England have been awarded a further £254m of funding by the government to support a transition to pre-coronavirus COVID-19 service levels.

Contents
Buses must be added quickly as part of £254m funding packageSocial distancing advice remains inconsistent

A public announcement of the money – which replaces the COVID-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) with immediate effect – came on Saturday 23 May. Stephen Fidler, Department for Transport (DfT) Director, Local Transport, wrote to operators that claim commercial BSOG ahead of that date, giving early details of the new funding.

Further information will follow shortly. But Mr Fidler says that the money is to “support the increased levels of services that will be needed as and when the government implements the next stages of its coronavirus COVID-19 recovery strategy.”

Mr Fidler adds that the industry should now take steps to expand operations as quickly as possible while working with the relevant local authorities (LAs). Those steps include removing affected staff from the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) “with immediate effect.”

Buses must be added quickly as part of £254m funding package

While the new £254m funding scheme for buses supplants CBSSG, its terms and conditions will be much the same. However, there are some changes:

  • Service levels will no longer be limited to 40-50% of scheduled commercial mileage. Instead, the government expects operators to increase provision as far as LAs require as quickly as possible
  • A one-off payment will be made available to cover the cost implications of removing staff from CJRS early. Operators will be required to submit evidence of those costs. The payment will be made as part of a wider reconciliation exercise in June
  • Other costs that can be claimed include those for PPE such as hand sanitiser and cab screens; those involved with bringing buses out of SORN status; and those required to make buses fit for use
  • Operators that did not receive CBSSG funding, but are eligible for BSOG, will be able to claim through the new scheme.

BSOG will continue to be paid at pre-pandemic levels. Other payments that will be made on that basis include those for ENCTS reimbursement, home-to-school services that are not operating and local service contracts.

No specific end date for the new scheme has been given. It will be subject to four-weekly reviews by DfT and the Treasury to examine its performance. Those reviews will also assess for how long it should continue to operate.

The reconciliation exercise in June will cover the 12-week period from 17 March to 8 June. It will identify any overpayments or underpayments. Under those circumstances, DfT “will endeavour to equitably reconcile any difference… from within the available funding.”

Social distancing advice remains inconsistent

Mr Fidler’s letter makes no reference to any condition for operators to enforce social distancing measures on buses. It does note that operators will be required to ensure that they are “not heavily loaded.”

Guidance issued to operators by the government on 12 May noted that while maintaining a 2m distance is desirable, it is not a rule. The guidance adds that “there are situations where this may not be possible, for example… on busier services.” Mr Fidler’s letter advises recipients that the guidance should be followed.

However, when conducting the daily coronavirus COVID-19 press conference on Saturday 23 May, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said: “Even a fully-restored service will only be capable of carrying – at best – one fifth of normal capacity, once social distancing is taken into account.”

Mr Shapps’ message also contradicts earlier statements from at least two of the big groups. They have confirmed that passenger numbers will be capped at 25% of the bus’s seating capacity.

DfT has invited operators with questions about the new scheme to contact it via email at CBSSG@dft.gov.uk

Discussions with the Scottish Government and Welsh Government around ongoing financial support for buses in those countries when movement restrictions begin to be lifted are ongoing.

Share This Article
Facebook LinkedIn Threads Email Copy Link
ByTim Deakin
Tim is Editor of routeone and has worked in both the coach and bus and haulage industries.
Previous Article Specialit Leisure Group ceases trading Shearings owner Specialist Leisure Group ceases trading
Next Article Johnsons Coaches outlines COVID-19 safe operating procedure
- Advertisement -

Latest News

Go-Ahead London – Managing Director
Careers Jobs
andy burnham tfgm £15.6 billion (1) The funding announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves today (4 June) has been allocated to several combined mayoral authorities to use on rail, tram, road and bus infrastructure. Transport for Greater Manchester revealed today that part of the £2.5 billion it will receive will go towards making the Bee Network fully battery-electric by 2030. An as-yet undecided portion of that will support a planned investment in 1,000 new zero-emission buses over that period, the mayoral authority said. That is part of plans to build the UK's "first fully integrated, zero-emission public transport system", with trams and trains also set to benefit. Liverpool City Region's already announced BRT system is among the projects to which its £1.6 billion will be allocated. Under those plans - due for realisation by 2028 - a high-speed network will be served by articulated buses which are modelled on the 'Glider' in Belfast. It is due to link Liverpool city centre with John Lennon Airport, and Liverpool FC and Everton FC's respective stadia along three routes. Although the model of bus has not been confirmed, a Van Hool Exqui.City on loan from Belfast was last year used as a demonstrator. That 18m vehicle can accommodate around 30% more passengers than a typical bus and has three sets of double doors. The funding will also go towards buses elsewhere in the city as the region heads towards franchising services by 2027. Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram with a 'Glider' which was on loan from Belfast last year - an example of the sort of bus which could serve the new BRT Bus services in the East Midlands region will be boosted by the funding, thanks to the £2 billion handed to it today by the government. Some of that allocation will be used for a rapid transit network on the Trent Arc between Nottingham and Derby. Between the two cities, the Freeport, Infinity Park Investment Zone and Ratcliffe-on-Soar will also benefit from the improved bus services. South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority's newly announced commitment towards bus franchising has been boosted by £350 million in funding as part of that region's allocation. The funding for West Yorkshire will help build new bus stations in Bradford and Wakefield. Likewise, the Tees Valley Mayoral Authority will put its sum towards a new £15 million bus station in Middlesbrough. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander says: "Today marks a watershed moment on our journey to improving transport across the North and Midlands – opening up access to jobs, growing the economy and driving up quality of life as we deliver our Plan for Change. "For too long, people in the North and Midlands have been locked out of the investment they deserve. With £15.6bn of government investment, we’re giving local leaders the means to drive cities, towns and communities forward, investing in Britain’s renewal so you and your family are better off."
TfGM’s all-electric bus plan boosted by new £15.6 billion package
News
Local Transport Minister opens First Bus electric depot in Hengrove
Local Transport Minister opens First Bus electric depot in Hengrove
Bus
Contract pricing conundrum for coach and bus
Contract pricing conundrum: Unlikely to get easier any time soon
Editor's Comment
- Advertisement -
-

routeone magazine is the indispensable resource for professional UK coach, bus and minibus operators. The home of vehicle sales and the latest bus and coach job vacancies, routeone connects professional PCV operators with complete and unrivalled news coverage.

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • GDPR Policy
  • Sustainability
  • Advertise
  • Latest Issue
  • Share Your News
routeonerouteone
Follow US
© 2024 routeone News | Powered by Diversified Business Communications UK Ltd