Responding to the announcement by the Transport Secretary that bus services in England will receive a funding boost of nearly £400 million, Cllr David Renard, the Local Government Association’s transport spokesman, said:
“Many key workers rely on local buses to get to and from work, whether that is nurses needing to get to hospital or social care staff to look after the most vulnerable.
“We are pleased the Government has acted on our call and announced emergency funding to help make sure vital bus services can continue to transport key workers to the frontline during the coronavirus crisis.
“Bus operators must work with local authorities to ensure that this public subsidy is targeted at the people and places that depend on it the most.
“Councils now want to also work with government to provide financial support to those places which depend on other publicly-run mass transit systems, such as ferries, trams, light railway networks.
“These also provide key workers with access to their workplaces, and are faced with unprecedented hits on their revenues, impacting on their future viability and ability to help people and business recover when this pandemic is over.”
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