Number of bus services subsidised by Suffolk County Council falls to five year low
The local authority is spending around £1.7m on keeping local services running
The number of bus services subsidised by Suffolk County Council is at its lowest in five years, and the total spend on subsidising last year was nearly £528,000 less than six years ago.
The total number of contracts Suffolk County Council had to subsidise or partially subsidise bus companies for reduced from 49 in 2017/2018 to 25 in 2021/22 and currently.
In terms of overall spend on subsidising, the 2021/22 figure was just below £1,787,500 – compared with a spend of nearly £2,315,500 in 2017/2018.
A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said: “This is an extremely difficult time for the bus industry and we are working hard with operators to help with services.
“Passenger numbers are still recovering post-Covid but without ongoing support at more than the current level of bus recovery grant from the government, which is due to end in October, we may see service reductions or even full withdrawals across Suffolk.
“We continue to make the case to the government for adequate funding.
“Subsidy levels can vary because of yearly variations in funding sources, such as Section 106 developer contributions and any savings we are able to make.
“It should be noted that around 95% of all routes are operated commercially by the bus companies without SCC funding.
“There are also factors such as fuel prices and driver shortages, and consolidation of contracts so services previously run by different operators can be run by just one.”
The bus recovery grant was funding for the bus sector provided to local councils from national government, which began in September 2021 and is due to end in October 2022.
A section 106 developer contribution is the agreement that developers give financial and/or non-financial support to mitigate the impact of a development on the community. This could be money towards public transport.
Earlier this month, Ipswich Borough Council decided to end its subsidy for five late bus services, having provided these as replacements for lost commercial services. Bus company Ipswich Buses, owned by the council, has agreed to subsidise these services until the end of the year.
It is Suffolk County Council’s responsibility to provide subsidised bus routes, but Ipswich Borough Council stepped in when commercial services were cut – to add subsidised services where the county council did not.