Bus passengers in West Yorkshire warned more services could be cut next year

The Government has provided around £2bn of support to operators across the country which have been struggling financially during the pandemic due to a significant drop in passenger numbers.

But political leaders who sit on West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) are concerned that operators will reduce or completely cut dozens of routes which passengers rely on when that support ends in March.

It comes after 20 routes were cut earlier this month, according to the Better Buses for West Yorkshire campaign group.

In a report, WYCA stated: “Bus patronage has not returned to pre-pandemic levels and inflationary pressures are driving up the cost of bus operation.

“Whilst the extension of Government funding has postponed many of the service cuts that would have occurred, Arriva and First still made service reductions at the start of October.

“Around 11 per cent of the bus network is currently not financially viable and will be at risk when the funding ends unless a significant uplift in passenger revenues is experienced.

“No mention has been made in recent Government budget announcements about continued funding for bus services beyond March 2023 and there remains a threat to marginal services if funding is not available.”

It comes as bus operators have been promised £37m in subsidies to lower fares for passengers.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin introduced a cap last month that means passengers now pay no more than £2 for a single journey, and they can make an unlimited number of journeys for £4.50 a day by buying a DaySaver ticket on the MCard App.

It was brought in after West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) successfully applied for £69.9m of Government funding for its Bus Service Improvement Plan.

WYCA said more than half the funding it received – £37m – will be handed to the bus operators so they can lower fares and the rest will be spent on upgrading the bus network.

The Bus Service Improvement Plan aims to make sure passengers can catch a bus every 15 minutes or quicker in West Yorkshire, 95 per cent of services arrive on time by 2025 and communities which have lost bus routes in recent years are reconnected.

The Department for Transport has agreed to hand out £1.1bn to fund improvements in 31 areas of the country, after it invited mayors and council leaders to submit a bid and outlinetheir ambitious plans to make services cheaper, greener, more frequent and more reliable.

It comes after then Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £3bn for a “bus revolution” outside London last year that would put an end to the “fragmented, fully commercialised market” which has operated outside London since 1986.

City of York Council received £17.4m, but bids submitted by political leaders in North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire were rejected outright.