Buses

Buses are our most used form of public transport. They carry millions of us to work and school; to shops and leisure facilities; to doctors’ surgeries and hospitals; and to friends and family.

Buses are key to tackling loneliness and social exclusion and help ensure thriving communities. They are crucial to reducing congestion on our roads, and zero emission buses help tackle air pollution and climate change.

If we all took the bus instead of the car just twice a month, by 2050 this would create a reduction of 15.8 million tons of CO2 – the same as the total emissions of the North East in 2019.

But despite their social, economic, and environmental importance, buses are facing a difficult time:

  • Cuts to national and local funding for buses have led to many services being reduced or withdrawn
  • Bus fares have risen much faster than rail fares or motoring costs
  • In many places buses are no longer frequent or reliable, and traffic on the roads can make journeys slow
  • Government messaging during the Covid pandemic damaged passenger trust in public transport and stay at home restrictions impacted on passenger numbers and bus operator revenue which is causing further cuts to services.

In 2021 after many years of campaigning by us and others, the Government launched a national bus strategy called Bus Back Better. This aims to address the long-term decline in bus services and create a bus network fit for the future. A hugely ambitious strategy, it contained many of the policies we have campaigned for over the years but crucially lacks the funding needed to deliver on its ambitions.

“We are pleased that the Government not only accepted our calls for a National Bus Strategy, but that the Strategy aims to deliver many of our key asks. This is an important step for local buses and, if combined with measures to reduce car use, will help to truly make public transport the first choice for journeys.”
Paul Tuohy, Campaign for Better Transport

We want to see a regular, reliable, affordable, zero-emission bus network in every village, town and city. To achieve this, we need to:

  • Replace the numerous fragmented and competitive bus funding pots with a long-term funding settlement
  • Allocate a greater proportion of bus funding towards ensuring more frequent buses and cheaper tickets
  • Reallocate money away from carbon intensive transport, like road building, to buses instead
  • Accelerate the move towards a zero-emission bus fleet.
"Getting the bus is what gives me my independence. The drivers don't rush me, and they don't put me under any pressure. The bus is good for disabled people."
Andy, East Sussex
Buses

Bus Back Better: three years on, winners and losers are clear

15 March 2024

When this landmark strategy was announced, it’s no exaggeration to say that transport campaigners breathed a collective sigh of relief. Yes, there would inevitably be issues to work out, but…

Buses

Look what we achieved together in 2023!

5 January 2024

Get around for two pounds We campaigned for soaring bus fares to be capped, and were delighted that we were able to persuade the Government to cap single bus fares…

Buses

This Christmas, help connect communities

13 December 2023

“Since we lost our bus service we feel very isolated. It is not how we planned it. If we had the bus service it would connect us.” These are the…

Save Our Buses

Buses are in peril. More than a quarter of English bus services have been lost in a decade, and 16 per cent were cut in the first year of the pandemic alone.

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I care about transport. I don’t want a future of traffic jams and dirty air. I want the Government to back public transport for a greener, fairer transport future. Please send me campaign actions and updates by email.