Save our buses

Buses are a lifeline. They connect communities, ease loneliness and enable people to live full lives. They are vital to accessing work and education, especially for the 35 per cent of low-income households that have no car, and they play a key part in cutting congestion and pollution.

But buses are in peril. Our research revealed that more than a quarter of English bus services have been lost in a decade. The Government’s National Bus Strategy, published in 2021, had big ambitions to reverse the decline in English buses, but despite £3 billion in funding as part of the Strategy, local buses are still facing an uncertain future and many passengers have yet to see the promised improvements.

How to make things better for bus passengers

To provide a regular, reliable and affordable bus service everywhere we’re campaigning for:

  • Long-term, ringfenced funding for all local authorities to provide the bus service their local communities need
  • Affordable fares so that taking the bus is cheaper
  • More bus lanes and bus priority measures to keep buses moving and speed up journeys.

With your help we have already:

  • Persuaded the Government to extend the emergency funding that kept buses going through the pandemic
  • Convinced the Government to introduce a temporary £2 cap on bus fares (which was later extended on our urging)
  • Helped shape the Bus Centre of Excellence, which offers support to local authorities to provide better bus services.

How you can help

Take action: tell us what buses mean to you

We’re calling on the Government to protect and improve lifeline bus services. You can help by telling us what buses mean to you and your community and how the £2 fare has helped you. Please submit your comment by filling in our simple form. We might send your comment to the Government, or share it publicly, for instance on our website or social media, to show that buses are vital.

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"When we first moved into the village, things were very different to now: the buses ran seven days a week. Over the years we have seen these services slowly erode."
Terence, Norfolk

Get on board

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.