Bus services in the East Riding have been given a new boost thanks to funding announced by the government.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council has been awarded £1.946m by the Department for Transport for buses as part of £150m worth of funding to councils in the North and Midlands announced yesterday (Monday 23 October).
Bus passengers in the area will also benefit from a further extension of the Get Around For £2 discount scheme - now running until December 2024 and staying at £2.
The scheme was originally set to end in November 2024 and increase to £2.50 next month.
It means people can continue to travel by bus anywhere in the East Riding - and further - for a single fare of just £2.
The government introduced the bus fare cap in January this year help with cost of living pressures, boost bus travel following the pandemic, and encourage more families to use buses for regular trips and family days out.
Today's announcement comes on top of a range of bus improvements introduced by East Riding of Yorkshire Council earlier this month, including six new bus services launching in November.
The new evening and weekend bus services, extensions to existing routes, have been introduced to to help local passengers and strengthen the network.
Councillor Paul West, the council's cabinet member for transport and environment, said: "Today's funding announcements are more fantastic news for passengers in the East Riding.
"This extra funding will make a big difference and allow the council to make even more improvements to local services.
"The council already announced it is going to fund six new bus services starting next month, with more to come.
"Also the extension to the £2 bus fare cap will also be hugely welcome, as it's already being a massive help for passengers travelling on local services and to bus companies in our area."
The funding announced today is the first allocation of £1 billion worth of new funding the government is dedicating to bus services across the North and the Midlands as part of the Network North Plan to help buses become more frequent, more reliable, cheaper and easier to use.
