Third of Manchester bus routes could be cut without funding

A third of bus services in Greater Manchester would be affected if government grants do not continue past March, transport bosses have said.

About 30 routes are at risk of being cut, Greater Manchester's Transport Committee said.

The city region requires roughly £30m to "stabilise" the bus market with another £40m needed for Metrolink in the next financial year.

It comes as emergency Covid funding for transport services is due to run out.

Greater Manchester's Transport Committee has urged the government to extend this financial support for bus and tram services, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In a statement, the chairman and vice chairmen of the committee warned the day-to-day lives of people would be "adversely impacted" if the support comes to an end in April.

They said: "We expect around one third of our bus services to be affected, with a wide-scale reduction in frequencies and around 30 routes withdrawn completely.

"If this were to happen communities would be cut off.

"It would have a very significant impact on our economic recovery as a city region, and on our plans to be greener and fairer.

"We have been working for many years to build up and support local public transport services but there is significant risk that much of this hard work will be undone if funding is cut, or possibly removed altogether in just six weeks' time."

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: "We have provided over £1.7bn to keep bus services running across the country throughout the pandemic, and are working closely with operators and local transport authorities to protect services after April.

"The government has committed to investing £3bn into bus services by 2025, including £1.2bn to improve fares, services and infrastructure, and a further £525m for zero emission buses."

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