Council welcomes government extension to £2 fare scheme

By JI-MIN LEE jlee@wokingham.today

THE GOVERNMENT has committed to extending support for buses for another three months, something that has pleased the borough council.

The Department for Transport has agreed to invest an additional £155 million in its Bus Recovery Grant, Local Transport Fund and subsidised £2 cap on selected fairs. These will now be available until June 30, helping operators recover from the impact of the pandemic. However, Reading Buses have yet to confirm if they are taking part in this extension. The company runs most routes across the borough.

Council leader Cllr Clive Jones and executive member for active travel, transport and highways, Cllr Paul Fishwick, penned a joint letter to transport secretary Mark Harper, arguing the March 31 deadline was too soon to withdraw support.

The council had already extended its own financial support for the borough’s subsidised routes, which was set to run out on March 31, until August 31, inviting bids from potential long-term operators.

Cllr Fishwick said: “When it comes to our bus services, we’ve put our money where our mouth is, so we’re delighted that the Government has followed suit by likewise extending its funding.

“It’s still a tough time for services but we can’t let them fall by the wayside. It will be far harder to try and revive routes if they’re allowed to fail than it is to support them through a difficult, but slowly improving, period.

“We’ll keep fighting our corner and taking every reasonable step to keep the buses running, whether that comes from our own finances – though we must accept these are limited due to the many challenges we face – or applying for funding.

“Residents can do their part by taking the bus wherever they can. The closer that usage can get to prepandemic levels, and the quicker this happens, the more likely these vital community assets are to survive.”

Despite increased numbers of passengers since the height of the pandemic, usage remains at about 80% of pre-covid levels. Operators face spiralling costs such as fuel, staffing and maintenance, as well as a national shortage of drivers.

With government funding now extended, the council is putting the borough’s subsidised routes out to tender for three years from September.

It hopes to award contracts in May, with extra costs partly covered by payments that developers building new housing are required to make towards local services.

Cllr Pauline Jorgensen, leader of Wokingham Conservatives, said:

“I am very pleased to see that the government have stepped in to continue to support bus services across the country, announcing on February 20, that they would provide £2 billion of extra funding, including £60 million to help operators cap single ticket prices at £2.

“When I was the executive member for highways I recognised the issue that the end of covid funding would cause, as bus transport usage had not recovered. We set aside funding in February 2022 which was sufficient to support services until May 2023.

“I was pleased to see the Liberal Democrats followed my lead last month, and extended the funding we had set aside until August 31.

“Bus travel still hasn’t recovered completely and I would encourage everyone to support the bus service so it remains there for those who need it.” n Wokingham Borough Council’s consultation on its revised Local Transport Plan closed on Sunday.

The council has also revised its Bus Service Improvement Plan, a strategic vision made up of various goals to attract more passengers by making services more reliable, accessible, clean and affordable.

No funding is allocated for any of these improvements, but the council hopes to attract funding to make them a reality.