A NEAR-£28 million boost for local bus services has been welcomed by passengers campaign group Somerset Bus Partnership (SBP).

The Department for Transport money, to be spent up to 2030, will help Somerset Council continue supporting bus services.

The council will receive a total of £24,741,113 between the 2026/27 and 2029/30 financial years, of which £13,148,886 is for revenue spending which can be used to reduce running costs for passengers, such as by capping the fares on park and ride services.

The other £11,592,227 is for capital projects such as a planned new Taunton transport hub.

Both sets of funding run alongside the £3 single journey fare cap, which the Government has pledged to keep in place until March, 2027.

SBP spokesperson Barrie Childs said: “In addition to this, £3 million is available for bus franchising expenses, should Somerset go down that road.

“It is a good award, and it is very good news.”

The number 25 bus from Dulverton via Wiveliscombe to Taunton can continue to be subsidised after a huge Government grant was awarded to Somerset Council.
The number 25 bus from Dulverton via Wiveliscombe to Taunton can continue to be subsidised after a huge Government grant was awarded to Somerset Council. (Tindle News)

Mr Childs has asked the council for an assurance that its supported bus budget will continue to be funded to at least the current business year’s supported value.

The council currently subsidises a number of bus services which make little money for their commercial operators but serve isolated areas of the county.

Subsidised routes include the 25 service between Dulverton and Taunton via Wiveliscombe, and the No 28 from Minehead to Taunton via Williton and Watchet.

Subsidies have been regularly reviewed, in consultation with the bus companies and the Somerset Bus Partnership, as the council tries to avoid going bankrupt with a £73 million budget gap for the coming financial year.

Somerset executive Cllr Mike Rigby said ‘place-holder’ savings in this area of the council’s budget had been removed in light of the Labour Government’s announcement.

Cllr Rigby said: “Previously, we had place-holder savings proposals in the medium-term financial plan.

“This was included originally because we thought there may need to be an adjustment around the amount of funding we allocate to supporting bus services at some point in the financial cycle.

Bus services such as the No 28 between Minehead and Taunton via Watchet and Williton could be improved thanks to a large Government grant to Somerset Council.
Bus services such as the No 28 between Minehead and Taunton via Watchet and Williton could be improved thanks to a large Government grant to Somerset Council. (Tindle News)

“This saving proposal has now been removed.

“The Government is providing ongoing additional revenue support to councils via the bus grant to enable them to continue to support services that are not commercially viable and to improve services in general.

“In accepting this grant, it is expected we will retain current levels of council funding for supporting public transport services.

“We will continue to review the services we support as part of our annual ‘business as usual’ conversations with bus operators, led by what they can operate commercially and what gaps there may be in socially necessary service provision each year.”

Some of the most significant bus service improvements in years were seen in 2025 as a result of a doubling of the bus funding grant received from the Government.

The funding supported several evening and Sunday bus services on key routes, along with new bus services as part of a major shake-up aimed at increasing passengers using buses.