Campaigners have called on the Government to take action over England’s shrinking bus services after official figures showed usage had dropped by 27 million journeys in the space of a year.
Statistics published by the Department for Transport also revealed fares had increased by an average of 61% over the last decade.
The Campaign for Better Transport said the Bus Bill included in the Queen’s Speech should be progressed to hand cities and regions the power and resources to improve services.
Martin Abrams, public transport campaigner at the charity, said: ‘Since 2010, Government has made swingeing year on year cut in support for buses. These statistics show the impact of those cuts with bus services disappearing, isolating whole communities and leaving ever more people unable to get to education, jobs and other basic services.’
Official statistics show London accounted for half of all the 4.65 billion bus journeys in England over the last year. While usage is rising in the capital, it is dropping by 1.5% a year on average across the rest of the country.
‘The Government must back up its plans to devolve transport powers in some cities and regions with proper funding. If they really care about buses, the chancellor will have to put his money where his mouth. That means not pulling the rug out from under the bus industry and protecting essential funding in the spending review, otherwise whole networks of bus services could be lost.’
