§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what plans he has to encourage people in rural areas to use public transport; [110776]
(2) what plans he has to improve access to bus services in rural areas. [110777]
§ Mr. HillThe Government are committed to improving bus services in rural areas. The 1998 Budget provided an additional £50 million a year for three years for rural public transport in the UK as a whole. This was increased by £10 million a year for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 in the 1999 Budget.
In England, the majority of this funding, £32.5 million per year, is being allocated to local authorities through the Rural Bus Subsidy Grant. Over 1,800 new and enhanced bus services were supported in the first year. We have also given support to 104 innovative rural transport schemes, totalling some £28 million, from the Rural Bus Challenge competitions. There will be at least one further Challenge competition.
Rural areas also receive assistance for public transport, including modes others than bus, through two schemes administered by the Countryside Agency. The Rural Transport Partnership scheme provides support for partnerships between the public, private and voluntary sectors to develop and implement transport strategies for rural areas. The Rural Transport Development Fund encourages the provision of innovative solutions to local transport needs in rural areas, meeting the start-up costs of new services and providing revenue support to services in danger of being lost.
The Transport Bill now before Parliament contains a range of measures to ensure that public transport plays its full part in an integrated transport policy, in town and country alike.