Are countryside buses coming back into business?

Council-funded rural buses described as a "lifeline" by some are enjoying a resurgence after years of decline and new laws are giving authorities more power. Does this mean buses are back in business?

Government data shows council support for local buses is rising. With the exception of London, 17% of bus miles travelled across England were supported financially by government.

That's down from almost a quarter in 2010, with bigger drops in rural areas, but it is up from a pre-pandemic low of 13% in 2019-20.

Journeys per person in England stood at 88 in 2010 and that number was down to 63 by 2024-25.

Numbers dropped sharply during the pandemic and a recent rise has not returned them to pre-Covid levels.

Figures for 2024-25 show the councils providing the most support to their bus networks tended to be in rural areas.

The charity Bus Users UK described supported bus services as "fundamental to social inclusion" and "a lifeline, not a choice" for many.

"Without them, people can become isolated and less able to participate fully in their communities," a spokesperson said.

The council is one of those across the country attempting to tackle this using DRT - demand responsive transport.

It is a type of on-demand service that passengers book in advance when it is needed and the bus route changes depending on where people need to go.

In 2021, the Department for Transport provided £20m to 15 local authorities in England to trial DRT via the Rural Mobility Fund.

The Wiltshire Connect service has been rolled out in different areas across the county.

It has 13 minibuses operating across three zones and first launched in 2023.

There have been 250,000 journeys since, a spokesperson for Wiltshire Connect said.