Love Your Bus Grant Fund Application

Overview

Buses contribute to all the Everyone’s Essex commitments (Everyone's Essex | Essex County Council). They support everyone including younger and older people; people with disabilities, the local economy, positive environmental outcomes and they enable diverse places to flourish.

A strong public transport network is a key enabler for all these strategic aims. It helps people access education, jobs, health services and shops - supporting our schools, colleges, high streets, and local employment. It gives people an alternative to car travel, helping to reduce congestion and carbon emissions, and so contributing to our net zero carbon goals. It enables people to live independently and to access friends and family, supporting their health and wellbeing.

Background

The Love Your Bus grant funding initiative would enable Parish and Town Councils in Essex to bid for funding to support and grow your local bus routes. This initiative is part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), a plan that Essex County Council (ECC) is committed to delivering. The fund would be designed to support community-led action to enable the growth of key local bus services throughout 2025/2026.

The proposal is to create a £500,000 grant fund from the BSIP+ funding allocated to ECC by the Department for Transport (DfT). The maximum award would be £50,000 per project.

The objective of the fund would be to enable Parish and Town Councils to invest in measures which would increase patronage on the bus service or services which serve their communities. The funding is revenue funding only.

Any suitable measures would be considered, including but not limited to:

• Attract new passengers: Improve information through marketing, leaflets, timetables and maps, and/or community-led engagement events.
• Service enhancements: Increase bus service frequency during peak hours, introduce late-night or early-morning services, and/or create new route extensions to connect underserved areas to key destinations.
• Community engagement and promotions: Targeted marketing campaigns, community-led engagement events, and/or school and community group partnerships.
• Passenger experience improvements: Improved passenger information (provide information on bus routes and schedules using maps, leaflets, posters, and/or other accessible formats).

Relevant Documents: 

Love Your Bus Application Guidance Notes 

Bid Criteria for Parish and Town Councils 

Intended Grant Agreement

Love your Bus FAQs