NEW funding from the Government to support, improve, and protect crucial bus services across the county was this week welcomed by Somerset Council.

Somerset will receive a £6.85 million share of an £83 million Government fund announced for the Westcountry by Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, which is part of a near-£1 billion going toward supporting bus services and keeping fares low.

Neighbouring Devon will receive even more with an £11.6 million award for the county’s bus services.

A Somerset Council spokesperson said: “This is positive news in terms of supporting our aims to improve bus provision in Somerset.

“In broad terms, while it appears to be a fairer allocation, there is still some way to go in terms of addressing the balance for public transport-deprived rural areas.

“We are awaiting full detail on the funding from the Department for Transport.

“Once we have this information the council can look at how funding could be used to maximum effect.”

Nationally, the funding settlement represents a record level of recent Government investment for bus improvements for the majority of areas, alongside once-in-a-generation reform to ‘deliver London-style bus services to every corner of the country’.

It is intended to both enhance popular routes as well as protect rural services, and to increase bus use for shopping, socialising, and commuting.

Punctuality should be improved and service reductions on at-risk routes prevented, ending the current ‘postcode lottery’ of unreliable services.

Ms Haigh said: “The value of regular and reliable bus services cannot be understated.

“For far too long, the South West has been suffering from unreliable services with buses hugely delayed, or not even turning up at all.

“This funding kickstarts the bus revolution to bring an end to the postcode lottery of bus services, drive economic growth, and make sure people have proper access to jobs and opportunities.

“We have already committed over £150 million to extend the bus fare cap and keep fares low, and this nearly £1 billion of further funding will mean local routes are protected, reliability is improved, and the passenger is put first.”

Ms Haigh said the investment would also ensure lifeline services between towns and hospitals can continue to transport patients to vital appointments, supporting the Government’s ambitions to reform the NHS.

Buses remain the most relied on form of public transport and the Government wants to turn the tide on decades of what it said was failed deregulation.

A Buses Bill will be introduced in the current Parliamentary session to give local leaders across the country greater control to deliver bus services in a way which suits the needs of their communities.

Local authorities will be empowered to deliver modern and integrated bus networks which put passengers at the heart of local decision making.

The new £3 single journey bus fares cap will run until December 31, 2025.

Ms Haigh said the Government was fixing the foundations and delivering change with investment and reform to deliver growth, with more jobs and more money in people’s pockets and rebuilding Britain.