Love Your Bus Grant Fund Application 2025/2026
Overview
Everyone's Essex
Buses contribute to all the Everyone's Essex outcomes. They support younger and older people; people with a disability, the local economy, positive environmental outcomes and enable diverse and attractive 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 protecting and enhancing the Essex environment, supporting healthy communities, and improving air and water quality. It enables people to live independently and to access friends and family, supporting their health and wellbeing.
Background
The ‘Love Your Bus’ funding initiative enables Parish and Town Councils in Essex to bid for funding to support and grow their local bus route. It is part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) that Essex is committed to delivering. The fund is designed to support community led action to enable the growth of key local bus services in 2026/27.
The proposal is to create a £500,000 from the Bus Grant (BSIP RDEL) grant received from the Department for Transport (DfT) to create the ‘Love your Bus 2’ grant fund open to Parish and Town Councils in Essex.
Purpose of the Fund
The objective of the Love Your Bus Grant Fund is to enable Parish and Town Councils to invest in revenue-based measures that will help increase patronage on local bus services serving their communities.
A wide range of initiatives will be considered, including (but not limited to):
- Service Enhancements
Improvements such as increased frequency during peak hours, introduction of early morning or late-night services, or route extensions to connect underserved areas to key destinations. - Community Engagement and Promotion
Activities like targeted marketing campaigns, community events, and partnerships with schools or local groups to raise awareness and encourage bus use. - Passenger Experience Improvements
Enhancements such as clearer passenger information (e.g. maps, timetables, posters in accessible formats), accessibility initiatives (e.g. bus buddy schemes, targeted travel support), and systems for collecting and acting on passenger feedback. - Incentive Programmes
Initiatives like loyalty rewards for frequent users, collaborations with local businesses to promote bus use among staff and customers, seasonal or themed services, and social media campaigns.
Need help with your application? Join our weekly Love Your Bus engagement session for live Q&A and tailored support to help you better understand the grant and how to apply.
Book Your Place at a Love Your Bus Engagement Session
Click the image above to register.
Each session will cover:
- The application process
- Eligibility and project design
- Completing your application
- Grant agreement and post-award monitoring
Relevant Documents - Please red before competing application
Go to Application Form
Events
-
Love Yor Bus grant Fund Engagement and Q&A session
From 7 Nov 2025 at 13:00 to 7 Nov 2025 at 14:00This session is designed to help Parish and Town Councils navigate the grant application process for projects aimed at growing and sustaining local bus services. It promotes community-led initiatives and encourages collaboration with transport providers to enhance local bus networks.
What the session will cover (but not limited to):
- Understanding the application process
- Eligibility criteria and designing your project
- Guidance on completing the application form
- Grant agreement terms and post-award monitoring
To book this session:
https://forms.office.com/e/CHwUYUXU7a -
Love Yor Bus grant Fund Engagement and Q&A session
From 13 Nov 2025 at 13:00 to 13 Nov 2025 at 14:00This session is designed to help Parish and Town Councils navigate the grant application process for projects aimed at growing and sustaining local bus services. It promotes community-led initiatives and encourages collaboration with transport providers to enhance local bus networks.
What the session will cover (but not limited to):
- Understanding the application process
- Eligibility criteria and designing your project
- Guidance on completing the application form
- Grant agreement terms and post-award monitoring
https://forms.office.com/e/CHwUYUXU7a -
Love Yor Bus grant Fund Engagement and Q&A session
From 20 Nov 2025 at 13:00 to 20 Nov 2025 at 14:00This session is designed to help Parish and Town Councils navigate the grant application process for projects aimed at growing and sustaining local bus services. It promotes community-led initiatives and encourages collaboration with transport providers to enhance local bus networks.
What the session will cover (but not limited to):
- Understanding the application process
- Eligibility criteria and designing your project
- Guidance on completing the application form
- Grant agreement terms and post-award monitoring
https://forms.office.com/e/CHwUYUXU7a -
Love Yor Bus grant Fund Engagement and Q&A session
From 28 Nov 2025 at 13:00 to 28 Nov 2025 at 14:00This session is designed to help Parish and Town Councils navigate the grant application process for projects aimed at growing and sustaining local bus services. It promotes community-led initiatives and encourages collaboration with transport providers to enhance local bus networks.
What the session will cover (but not limited to):
- Understanding the application process
- Eligibility criteria and designing your project
- Guidance on completing the application form
- Grant agreement terms and post-award monitoring
https://forms.office.com/e/CHwUYUXU7a
Areas
- All Areas
Audiences
- Anyone from any background
Interests
- Activities
- Adult learning
- Art services
- Business advice and support
- Business resilience and continuity planning
- Central government
- Co-production/ residents’ feedback
- Community development
- Community initiatives
- Community transport
- COP page
- Corporate operations
- Country parks
- Democracy
- Early years
- Environmental planning
- Health
- Highways
- KPI
- Not on hub
- Policy making
- Public Health
- Public transport
- Recycling
- Safer Greener Healthier
- Schools
- Skills and competences
- Support for adults
- Support for carers
- Support for children
- Trading standards
- Transport planning
- Waste
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