Bus travel at new low as routes cut

♦ Bus travel is at its lowest level for decades amid warnings the countryside will get clogged up with cars.

Latest figures reveal that in the year to March, there were 4.45billion passenger journeys made in England, a drop of 75million.

Cuts to services and a decline in passenger numbers has led the Local Government Association (LGA) to call for action over fears route cuts will fuel countryside congestion

– the Department of Transport predicts car growth of up to 55 per cent over the next two decades – and poorer air quality.

Martin Tett, the LGA’S transport spokesman, said: “The way the concessionary travel scheme is funded by Whitehall has not kept up with growing demand and cost.”