Two of Gedling borough‘s bus services have been handed a temporary lifeline after the government unveiled a nationwide support package of £130 million.
The cash has been handed to Nottinghamshire County Council and will be used to provide financial support to keep the 46 and 47 service going.
The buses, which are operated by Nottingham City Transport, serve Woodborough, Lambley, Mapperley and Nottingham.
Without the funding the council said the services would have been at risk.
The cash award has also secured the futures of 17 other key bus services across Notts.
The funding is being provided from a new instalment of the Government’s Bus Recovery Grant, announced last week, which has been set up to help routes struggling to recover to pre-covid passenger levels, along with existing council held transport funding.
The money to fund the buses will last initially until April 2023 and is in addition to £4.1m given by Nottinghamshire Couny Council that already supports a further 80 bus routes each year.
Bus companies are expected to make further commercial decisions on other routes in Nottinghamshire in the coming week which are not funded by the council.
Councillor Neil Clarke, the council’s Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, has welcomed the targeted money to help bus services.
“I’m pleased that the council and the Government have teamed-up to help passengers to continue to use these bus services.
“Many residents will use these services for work, shopping and seeing friends and loved ones – and older members of our community find them especially valuable.
“We’re all aware of the many challenges faced by the bus and coach industry after the worst days of the pandemic.
“I’m glad that the council can still play a crucial role in providing the investment to keep bus services running smoothly across our county”, he said.
Councillor Clarke added: “We will be reviewing these services in partnership with the bus companies over the autumn, as well as looking at our existing supported network to look at longer-term options after next April.
“It is vital that residents try to use the bus more frequently across Nottinghamshire, as it will provide us with evidence and a clear need to continue funding bus travel.
“Using the bus more will help continue to keep bus services running across Nottinghamshire now and in the future.”
People would use this service more if it ran more frequently especially evenings and weekends.