Cuts to Covid bus funding could mean that only four buses run across South Yorkshire after 10pm from October.

Louise Haigh MP Shadow Transport Secretary has today (30 June) vehemently urged the government to take action and provide funding for bus services across the country, before services are decimated and lost for communities for good.

In October, post-covid funding for bus services, provided by the government is due to end. Speaking in the House of Commons today, Louise Haigh raised the catastrophic position bus services will be left in if action is not taken now.

“Buses are a lifeline for so many people and during the pandemic they were there to support key workers and get them to our hospitals and supermarkets. The government provided funding at that point, and it meant that much needed services could continue to run.

“The industry is now facing a cliff edge and if further funding is not provided then we could see many services disappear for good.

“We already know that bus companies have said that a third of services could be cut by July in South Yorkshire alone and from October South Yorkshire could be left with only four buses running across the region after 10pm.

“We’re facing a climate emergency, and this is the time that we should be investing in our bus services and making them reliable, accessible and affordable.

“The government needs to start putting the needs of our communities first and investing in the transport that they use, daily to get to work, leisure and to see family. They talk about levelling up but at the moment they are delivering managed decline.”