County gets £31m to improve bus services

The government has pledged to give more than £10m per year for the next three years to improve bus services across Cambridgeshire.

Some £31m will be given to the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority, which will decide how it should be spent.

The authority has previously received funding for bus services. Earlier this year it was used to extend the £2 fare cap

The £10m is part of a wider package of £309m which will be given to the East of England.

In the past, local authorities have had funding awarded each year.

This announcement confirms what they will get for the next three years.

"For years councils were stuck with short-term funding that prevented them from making real change," said Simon Lightwood MP, Minister for Roads and Buses at the Department for Transport.

"That ends now... local leaders can really plan properly now."

He added that it would be up to the combined authority to decide how it was best spent in the county.

"They understand their local communities and what they need to improve services," the Labour minister said.

Last month, the combined authority, which is led by Conservative Mayor Paul Bristow, committed to subsiding a number of rural routes, but decided to stop paying for a route that was costing £100 per passenger.

It also operates the Tiger Pass, which gives under-25s discounted fares — currently £1 per journey.

The combined authority has not yet commented on the latest funding announcement.

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