The Government has announced which areas of England will receive funding to boost bus services.

And Reading has been awarded millions under the Bus Service Improvement Plan Scheme.

Improvements under the areas’ bus service improvement plans include making services more frequent, better reliability, cheaper fares and greener vehicles.

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Reading has been awarded £26.3 million.

West Berkshire will also be given £2.6 million.

Many applicants missed out in the latest round of funding in the Bus Service Improvement Plan scheme, such as Blackpool, Cheshire West and Chester, Hull, Leicester, Plymouth, Sheffield City Region, and Slough.

The DfT said its bus strategy published in March 2021 stated that “areas not showing sufficient ambition, including for improvements to bus priority, would not be funded”.

The department added that just under two-thirds of England’s population outside London will “benefit from new investment” under the in buses, including earlier funding awards.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Buses are the most popular way of getting around in this country – but for too long people outside of London have had a raw deal.

“The investment we’re making today to ramp up the bus revolution will drive down fares at a time when people’s finances are tight and help connect communities across England.”

But Labour’s shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, commented: “The Tories have admitted vast swathes of the country won’t see a single penny to improve their shockingly bad bus services.

“The Conservatives have slashed the funding promised, and dramatically downgraded the ambitions of many local communities.

“Far from bus transformation, many will continue to see managed decline.”