Dereg grant in force
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• Operators of most local bus services will get 6p for every vehicle mile they run in rural areas under the new rural bus grant introduced this month, Transport Minister David Mitchell predicts.
The grant, part of the Government's bus deregulation package, came into force on Tuesday and will cost £50 million over four years.
In 1986/87 the grant will cost £20 million in the first year and reduce by £5 million a year.
Mitchell said that the introduction of deregulation would give operators the freedom and incentive to run the services that passengers want.
But he admitted that the rural areas will benefit least from competition.
He hopes the grant, together with the prospect of deregulation, will "encourage many operators to take a fresh look at the opportunities for providing new services in rural areas".