Better Transport

Bus services are facing an urgent new threat.

The Government is considering the future of the Bus Service Operators Grant, the only direct national funding for buses. If the grant is scrapped, the result could be Beeching-style cuts to bus services. Fares would rise, jobs would be lost and the environment would suffer. Find out more about the issues in our press release.

Please write to your MP and ask him or her to sign a parliamentary petition (called EDM 402) calling for the Bus Service Operators Grant to be protected.

You can find and email your MP easily through the website WriteToThem.

When writing your message, please don't forget to ask your MP to sign EDM 402.

Other things you could mention:

• Buses provide 5 billion low-carbon passenger journeys a year. They are most heavily used by the lowest income groups and those with disabilities. 
• The Government's own studies have found that for every £1 invested in the Bus Service Operator's Grant, we get a return of between £3 and £5 through wider benefits.
• Withdrawal of the grants would likely mean fare hikes of 10% immediately, and a 10% drop in passenger numbers.
• Any savings from such cuts would likely be eaten up by increases in the welfare budget through higher unemployment. Jobs in the bus industry would be lost, and others would find it hard to travel to work.
• Don't forget to tell your MP why buses are important to you personally.

Thank you for adding your voice - please ask your friends to take action too by sending them a link to this page!