PRESS RELEASE FROM ALISTAIR STRATHERN MP
MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Alistair Strathern, MP for the Hitchin constituency, has welcomed news of an extra £1bn of funding from the Government in bus services.
This money will create new routes, new buses and new jobs across the country, with every region set to benefit, with rural areas set to receive the most support.
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire councils will receive over £15m.
Strathern looks forward to working with the Government to ensure this money can be spent as effectively as possible. He will continue to work with local councils in this effort too.
Since entering office, one of Strathern’s priorities has been better our local public transport. In such a rural area, he is aware of the need for better bus connections to increase resident’s mobility.
Recently, Alistair successfully campaigned for the 101 bus to resume stopping at the village of Lilley, in the south of his constituency.
The £1bn will be spent in the next two years and aims to maintain and upgrade urban services, while expanding rural services.
The announcement comes as part of the Government’s biggest reforms to bus services in 40 years, with more funding, an extension of the fare cap and reforms to ensure local communities own and run their bus services.
Alistair Strathern MP said:
“Growing up in the Bedfordshire countryside, and now representing our rural area, I know just how vital connectivity is, and how so often it has lacks for so many.
“The economic, social, environmental, and mental wellbeing benefits of increasing rural public transport are huge for communities like ours.
“I look forward to working with local councils to make sure this money goes as far as possible.
“I am proud to support Labour’s wider plans to provide a generational uplift to our bus network.”
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said:
“Buses are the lifeblood of communities, but the system is broken. Too often, passengers are left waiting hours for buses that don’t turn up – and some have been cut off altogether.
“That’s why we’re reforming funding to deliver better buses across the country and end the postcode lottery of bus services.
“And it’s why we’re providing over £1bn of funding to keep fares down, protect local routes and deliver more reliable services.
Notes to Editors
You can see a picture of Alistair attached in Shefford by a bus stop.
You can see a press release from Alistair following the news the 101 bus would return to Lilley, here.
You can see a video from Alistair campaigning for the change, here.
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