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All aboard a rural bus in Cambridge... but how will cuts affect services?

If you live in the countryside you may be spending more time admiring the view.

Bus services are facing cuts and according to the government's own figures, rural services are the hardest hit.

It predicts that between 2% and 3% fewer people will use the buses in the future. This is being put down to an expected 2% rise in fares accompanied by a 2% reduction in services.

Why will that happen?

Because of the expected impact of a 20% reduction in the (BSOG) - or to you and me, the rebate the government gives the bus companies of around 70 to 80% of the fuel duty they pay for diesel and petrol. BSOG is currently worth around £500m a year.

In the October 2010 Spending Review the government announced that would be reduced by 20%, saving £300m by 2014/15.

The bus operators can decide for themselves whether to increase fares and the (CPT), who represents the bus industry, has suggested the reduction in bus subsidy could be absorbed without fares having to rise.

So we shall see.

In addition subsidised bus services funded by local authorities are under huge pressure as councils this week make their cuts. According to the most recent estimates councils run 22% of the total mileage operated by bus services last year.

(CBT) says this masks wide variations, so only 5% might be subsidised in an urban area while the figure might be closer to 100% in rural areas... like much of the eastern counties.

Many local authorities have already been forced to take on unprofitable routes and now they're facing year-on-year budget cuts many authorities believe sustaining these subsidised networks simply isn't feasible.

Norfolk voted to retain its rural bus services yesterday but transport is being affected by the £50m cuts in Cambridgeshire's budget.

Hundreds of residents are demanding the reversal of damaging county council cuts which threaten their bus services. They have signed a petition organised by the city's Liberal Democrats.

Passengers fear they could be stranded by to save £2.7 million on bus subsidies across the county over the next four years.

Lib Dem Cambridge City Councillor, Sarah Brown, said: "This decision could be incredibly damaging to the people of Cambridge who rely on these buses.

"Our petition with 542 signatures shows the great strength of feeling in our communities against these damaging cuts."

Cutting back on rural bus services is proving contentious across the region - including where it's being debated this evening.

The overall level of government subsidy for bus services increased dramatically after 1997.

Those days are well and truly gone.

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