Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Rural Mobility and Supported Bus Services Funds

Monday 18 May 2020 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 3 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Government are providing 397 million for England's buses, including a 30 million supported bus services fund.
  • Local authorities have received 46 bids for the supported bus services fund.
  • The Government are working to provide further support to bus operators to maintain service provision with social distancing.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Daniel Zeichner Lab Cambridge
Transport
Context

The MP inquires about the number of applications received since February 2020.

Question

How many applications have been made to the (a) rural mobility fund and (b) supported bus services fund since February 2020?

Answer from Rachel Maclean

The Government are providing significant funding for the bus industry at this time. Our covid-19 funding package for England's buses totals £397 million. As part of this, local authorities have access to a £30 million supported bus services fund. To date, 46 bids have been received. No bids have yet been received for the rural mobility fund because the deadline is 4 June.

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Q2 Daniel Zeichner Lab Cambridge
Transport Energy
Context

The MP brings up the issue of hydrogen-powered buses being more suitable for rural routes and questions why there is no equivalent scheme to the all-electric bus town scheme.

Question

Of course, hydrogen-powered buses have a much longer range, making them more suitable for rural routes and rural areas, and we have some of the leading hydrogen-powered bus manufacturers in the world. The Government have introduced the all-electric bus town scheme. Where is the equivalent for hydrogen?

Answer from Rachel Maclean

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that we are focusing on new all-electric bus towns, which is an exciting part of the money that the Prime Minister has announced to support buses up and down the country, but it is not right to say that we are not focusing on hydrogen buses. We have actually allocated £4.36 million to hydrogen buses and supporting infrastructure.

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Q3 Jane Hunt Con Dover
Transport
Context

The MP inquires about measures to ensure the financial stability and operation of bus services while adhering to social distancing guidelines.

Question

The Government have recently published the safer transport guidance for operators, which is very welcome indeed, but I wonder whether the Minister could set out what steps are being taken to ensure the financial viability of bus services while maintaining social distancing.

Answer from Rachel Maclean

I can tell my hon. Friend that we are working urgently to provide further support to bus operators so that they can run service provision as people return to work and at the same time observe social distancing.

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