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Bus Subsidy Ring-Fenced (Revenue) Grant

The Local Authority Bus Subsidy Ring-Fenced (Revenue) Grant is paid by the Department for Transport to local authorities. This is in place of the Bus Services Operators Grant, previously paid to bus operators for running services under tender to local authorities.

The grant may be used for the purposes of supporting bus services (including community transport services run under a section 19 permit). It may also be used for the provision of infrastructure supporting such services in our, or a neighbouring local transport authority's area.

In 2022, we received £109,528. This was used to match fund services which were supported by parish or town councils and developer funding. It was also used to continue running services which had been withdrawn by commercial bus operators.

Supported Bus Services Fund

The Department for Transport provided Northamptonshire County Council with funding for supported bus services in 2020 and 2021. This was part of the better deal for buses announced in September 2019.

The impacts of the Covid pandemic lasted longer than expected. With more emergency Government support available than initially expected, the funding was used in a slightly different way.

Funding was used for the following services between March 2020 and March 2021:

Bus NumberRoute
60Northampton - Welford
87Northampton – Towcester – Brackley
X91​Milton Keynes – Silverstone – Towcester – Brackley
505Brackley - Bicester

The remaining funding is being used by us to continue to fund these services after April 2021.

Covid-19 Bus Service Support Grant

The Covid-19 Bus Service Support Grant (CBSSG) and CBSSG Restart Grant were paid by the Department for Transport between 17 March 2020 and 31 August 2021. They were to ensure that bus services can continue to run while passenger numbers were reduced due to Covid-19.

The majority of the grant is paid to commercial bus operators. However, a proportion of the grant is paid to local authorities to support tendered services. 

We used this funding to support the continued operation of the following services:

Bus NumberRoute
33/33A​Northampton – Hartwell – Milton Keynes
59Welford - Market Harborough
60​Northampton – Guilsborough - Welford
87Northampton – Pattishall – Towcester – Silverstone – Brackley
X91Brackley – Silverstone – Towcester – Milton Keynes
505Brackley - Bicester

From 1 September 2021, this funding was replaced by two grants:

  • Bus Recovery Grant, paid to commercial operators
  • Local Authority Bus Recovery Grant, paid to local authorities

Last updated 23 January 2024