The West of England Combined Authority, led by Metro Mayor Dan Norris and partnered with North Somerset Council, has been awarded £105m to improve bus services across the region.

Mr Norris has expressed delight at the "big win" which will see 10% of whole of the country's bus budget spent in the West of England and is the second highest funding award in England.

The funding means in the future the Combined Authority is looking to introduce changes to help buses get through traffic so they run more reliably, improve the frequency of buses on well-used routes, and develop community transport to meet the needs of more rural communities.

Commenting, Metro Mayor Dan Norris, who is responsible for regional transport, said: "I'm delighted for the people of the West of England. This is another vote of confidence in our amazing region. The money will build on the half a billion we have already secured since last May. It sounds like a lot of money – and it is. Sadly this isn't cash I am allowed to spend to save individual bus routes. What we can do is make sure buses don't get stuck in so many traffic jams with measures to speed them through congestion, improve the quality of buses, and make it easier and more convenient to buy a ticket.

"This is a good day for the West of England and a step on the road to give local people the public transport services they need and deserve. But this can only be the start. We need to lever in even more resources if we really want to get as many people as possible out of cars and into public transport which is key to meeting our ambitious net zero targets."

Leader of North Somerset Council, Cllr Don Davies said: "Securing this funding for North Somerset and the West of England is essential for our shared ambitions to make public transport a natural choice for everyone and achieve our carbon reduction goals.

"We will now work together to develop a public transport solution to rival that of any city region, further enhancing the West of England as a greener and thriving place to live, work and visit."

Yesterday (April 4) Campaign for Better Transport research has revealed that bus services in the South West have declined by 29% in the last decade, with the pandemic having a devastating effect.

The transport charity is calling for a national, government-led campaign to encourage people back on board and turn around the fortune of buses.

Across England as a whole:

Campaign for Better Transport's research shows that more than a quarter (27 per cent) of bus services in England (as measured by vehicle miles) have vanished in the last decade

The number of bus services (as measured by 'live' bus registrations) dropped from 16,913 in March 2012, to 12,067 in March 2021 – a decline of 29 per cent across England

The biggest drop has been as a result of the pandemic: in the eight years between 2011/12-2018/19, bus vehicle miles in England dropped by ten per cent, whereas in the two years between March 2019 and March 2021, they fell by almost double that (18 per cent)

The regions with the biggest declines are the North West and the East of England, both losing 38 per cent of services, followed by the East Midlands with a 35 per cent loss.

Paul Tuohy, Chief Executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said:

"Buses are relied upon by millions of people and should play a central role in a green transport future, but they have been struggling for some time, and the pandemic has made things much worse. The Government must recognise the need for a national campaign to attract passengers back to public transport."