Collection

Bus services: grants and funding

Information about bus service grants and funding available in England.

Bus Service Operators Grant Plus (BSOG+)

Bus Service Operators Grant Plus (BSOG+) is a grant for eligible commercial bus services. It aims to:

  • support the reform and consolidation of bus funding
  • develop long-term sustainability in bus funding for the sector

BSOG+ is a new and separate grant to BSOG.

Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG)

Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) is a grant paid to operators of eligible bus services and community transport organisations to help them recover some of their fuel costs.

BSOG also aims to benefit passengers by:

  • helping operators keep fares down
  • enabling operators to run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation

£2 bus fare cap scheme

This scheme caps single bus fares on participating routes at £2. The scheme helps passengers save on regular travel costs and increases bus use. It applies to routes in England, excluding London, and will run until 31 December 2024.

Bus service improvement plans (BSIPs)

How local transport authorities and bus operators work together to develop bus service improvement plans (BSIPs).

Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme

This scheme provided capital funding to local transport authorities to support the introduction of zero emission buses and associated infrastructure.

ZEBRA 2 is now accepting funding applications.

Bus Recovery Grant (BRG)

The Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) ran from September 2021 until June 2023, supporting commercial bus operators experiencing reduced passenger numbers due to the impact of COVID-19.

This scheme is closed to new applicants.

Published 8 May 2015
Last updated 9 November 2023 + show all updates
  1. Added Bus Service Operators Grant Plus (BSOG+).

  2. Additional coronavirus (COVID-19) funding is available for bus operators.

  3. Bus Service Operators Grant payments to English operators up to 31 March 2018 added.

  4. Bus Service Operators Grant payments to English operators up to 31 March 2016.

  5. Value for money research reports published.

  6. Collection updated to include the 'Local bus market study' by KPMG on behalf on Department for Transport.

  7. First published.