Guidance: Bus service improvement plans

Buses are a public service, forming a vital part of the integrated transport system and of the economy and daily life of every city, town and rural area in the country. They are the most used form of public transport in England, with 1.85 billion bus journeys being made in England outside London in the year ending March 2025.

Millions of people depend on buses to get to work, education, shops and medical appointments. They are a particularly important form of transport for young people, older people, disabled people and people with lower incomes. When well used, buses are also the most space-efficient form of road passenger transport, offering a great opportunity to decongest streets and roads and great benefits to the local and global environment.  

The government sets the legislative and policy framework for buses in England outside London. The Department for Transport (DfT) has set out a vision for buses within the integrated transport system which puts local transport authorities (LTAs) at the centre of delivering an improved bus service.

We have also allocated almost £700 million per year of funding to LTAs through the Local Authority Bus Grant to fund improvements to the bus service in the period 2026/27 to 2028/29. In return, all LTAs are asked, amongst other things, to:

choose between 2 forms of regulatory model for the bus service in their area - either a bus enhanced partnership (EP) or bus service franchising

work closely with their local bus operators and local communities, to maintain an up-to-date bus service improvement plan (BSIP)

Purpose of a bus service improvement plan

A BSIP is a public document published on the LTA’s website, intended to set out clearly the vision and plan for improving bus services and growing bus patronage in the local area.