Government Bus Bail Out

Today the UK government has announced that it will cover the losses of bus companies in England over the next three months to ensure that services can still run.

The UK's bus industry says passenger numbers have "fallen off a cliff" since the government advised people against all non-essential travel. That has caused bus firms to cut services.

But a new £167m fund will ensure that bus companies can cover their costs on essential services so that key workers, such as NHS staff, can get to work. Hundreds of millions of pounds of support measures from local and central government have been dedicated to the UK's bus industry to ensure that companies can survive through the coronavirus crisis and keep a reduced bus network moving.

The latest figures from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), which represents bus and coach companies in Britain, showed that passenger numbers were down by 75%, although the numbers from bus operators suggest numbers are even lower.

With people advised to stay at home, many buses around the UK are being driven around with no passengers on them at all.

CPT boss Graham Vidler said the funding would "plug the gap" between the costs of running essential routes and the income received by companies. He said that would allow "critical journeys to continue".

Government support is conditional on bus companies operating about half of their routes. Operators have also pledged not to let buses carry more than 50% of their maximum capacity to ensure that social distancing is possible on board.

(Source: BBC News)

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