§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he plans to announce the future funding arrangements for(a) Vale Link Community Transport, (b) Yate and Sudbury dial-a-ride and (c) other community transport schemes in South Gloucestershire. [147203]
§ Mr. Hill[holding answer 25 January 2001]: Funding for three years' operation of the Vale Link Community Transport scheme and the Yate and Sodbury dial-a-ride scheme was given to South Gloucestershire Council as part of a successful award of £612,000 from the 1998 Rural Bus Challenge. We have not received a bid for further funding of the existing services. However, the Council has bid in the 2000 Rural Bus Challenge for funding to extend the operation of the current schemes to cover peak times. We will announce the results of that competition shortly.
I announced on 16 January our intention to give local authorities more flexibility in the use of the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant to assist the provision of ongoing support for services initially supported by the Rural Bus Challenge. Whether to use the grant in this way would be a matter for decision by South Gloucestershire Council.
Any bids for funding of these projects, and other community transport schemes, would continue to be considered in future Rural Bus Challenge competitions. Our Rural Transport Partnership, administered by the Countryside Agency, is another source of funding for rural schemes. Bids for urban schemes would be eligible for consideration under the new Urban Bus Challenge.