Bus Back Better!

FOLLOWING the launch of the Bus Back Better project in April, Somerset County Council has been working on their bid for some of the £3billion funding the Government has allocated to this project. 

The Somerset Bus Partnership and FAVBUG have been lobbying Somerset County Council, working closely on this with Frome Town Council and neighbouring parishes. 

Peter Travis of Frome and Villages Bus User Group (FAVBUG) and co-chair of Somerset Bus Partnership said, “We welcome this £163million bid by Somerset County Council.  

“It is an ambitious bid for a huge amount of money, which is what is needed to improve our buses in Somerset. Across England, Somerset’s bus services currently have the lowest satisfaction rate amongst bus users. Bus use in Somerset has fallen by 43% in the past decade, caused in no small measure by the many cuts to bus subsidies made by the county council.  

“This £163million won’t be funded by Somerset, this money is what Somerset is seeking from central Government to improve our county’s bus services. It is part of the Government’s ‘Bus Back Better’ national programme which has a budget of £3billion, designed to encourage more people in England to leave their cars at home and travel by bus. It will also help fund the decarbonisation of our buses with a progressive move in Somerset to electric and hydrogen powered buses by 2030. 

“When Somerset gets the extra funding from the Government, it’s really important that people in Frome and in the neighbouring villages like Coleford, Rode and elsewhere are listened to about their local bus services. We know better than council officers sitting in Taunton about what is wrong with our buses. Hence Somerset needs to engage with our local county councillors, with our local councils and with FAVBUG about what improvements are needed to get more people to go by bus.”