Rural Bus 2026 is supported by the Department for Transport and the Bus Centre of Excellence as they understand how vital bus services are in delivering Government's stated missions.
Both recognise that improving rural mobility is central to delivering UK Government priorities from economic growth and net zero to levelling up, health, and social inclusion.
Rural Bus 2026 builds on the highly successful inaugural conference in 2025. This unique event brings together more than 250 local authorities, operators, consultancy and service providers to share best practice across the rural bus sector. A range of keynotes, presentations, interactive panels, case studies and organised networking sessions will help delegates understand how to:
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Make use of the Bus Services Act to support rural buses
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Develop stronger local control to support rural routes
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Embed protection for "socially necessary" services
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Develop robust and timely paths to franchising or Enhanced Partnerships
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Understand what's available in funding and rural investment
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Make the most of lessons learned from the Rural Mobility Fund evaluations
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Create funding formulas that explicitly recognise rural challenges
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Evaluate how Enhanced Partnership or franchising arrangements can create and maintain local services
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Make the most of revised planning frameworks – supporting sustainable travel, including rural buses
For too long catching the bus has felt like an ordeal, with unreliable services and cuts to key routes meaning many communities, particularly those in rural areas, have been left isolated. The passing of our vital Bus Services Act will finally change this
Heidi Alexander, Transport Secretary
Supported delegate places at Rural Bus 2026
As an event partner, the Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE) is funding a limited number of delegate places at Rural Bus 2026, available to local authorities and third sector organisations.
Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee a place. Interested delegates are encouraged to apply as soon as possible using the form opposite.
Successful applicants will be contacted by the Landor LINKS conference team via conferences@landor.co.uk.
Due to the high volume of applications expected, only successful applicants will be contacted.
A waiting list will be maintained for those who are unsuccessful.
If you have any queries, please contact conferences@landor.co.uk
Have a question about applying or the selection process?
Contact the BCoE team at: BCoE@ciht.org.uk
Programme enquiries
Please contact: juliana.orourke@landor.co.uk
General event enquiries
Please contact: conferences@landor.co.uk
Rural buses – the big picture
To properly understand the status of rural bus services across the UK – the evidence base and potential routes to improvement – Rural Bus 2026 will also take a deep dive into recent regulation, guidance, data sources and recommendations relating to rural buses, bringing together the latest resources to help improve services across the country.
We'll look at key information from:
Bus Centre of Excellence (BCoE)
Rural bus services need the right resources to flourish – BCoE supports the sector with capability building, skills and training to deliver safe, inclusive and attractive bus services as part of a net zero transport system.
Bus Franchising Pilots
The Government is backing local authorities Cheshire West and Chester, York and North Yorkshire, Cornwall, Cumbria and Hertfordshire as part of the Bus Franchising Pilots, which aim to explore how to transform rural services. The iTravel DRT service in Cheshire West, for example, covers a very rural sparsely populated area with most people living too far from 'standard' public transport to be able to use it. Since the service was launched eight months ago, the uptake has been strong, with at least three bus passengers per vehicle hour of operation reached in a short time.
The Bus Services Act 2025
The Bus Services Act of October 2025 is aimed at making it easier for local leaders to take control of their buses. The Act gives local transport authorities (councils and combined authorities) greater powers over bus services in their areas – a move intended to help rural communities, where commercial bus services have often been withdrawn because they're not profitable.
Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) lessons learned
The Rural Mobility Fund is a £20 million fund to trial Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) solutions in rural and suburban areas of England. Outside of London, 15 local authorities were awarded funding to run DRT pilot schemes between April 2021 and March 2025. The University of the West of England published evaluation reports in 2023 and December 2025, concluding that several DRT services are now operating, some in areas where there had previously not been any public transport, and they were providing improved connectivity and access to services for many people.
Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs)
To access BSIP funding, local authorities must work with local bus operators under an Enhanced Partnership or franchising arrangement. These structures are intended to help tailor improvements – including for rural routes – to local needs and capacities.
Department for Transport DRT best practice guidance
In December 2025 the Department for Transport published its DRT best practice guidance, noting that there is no one size fits all for DRT. The guidance sets out key areas to consider, covers at a high level the different ways in which things can be done, makes suggestions and provides examples for methods of doing things depending on the differing local authority circumstances.
Buses Connecting Communities
Published in August 2025, the Transport Select Committee noted that buses remain the most used form of public transport in England. They connect people to work, education, healthcare and each other. Despite their importance however, the last decade has seen many communities, especially those outside of major cities, suffer a significant decline in their local bus networks, leaving many without access to reliable services.
National Planning Policy Framework revisions
Recent changes to the National Planning Policy Framework / Planning Practice Guidance (December 2024) updated the standard method for Local Housing Need (LHN). In many predominantly rural authorities, this has produced step-change increases in minimum housing numbers, in several cases around doubling (or more) – and bus services will be the key mode of public transport for many.
Updated Enhanced Partnership guidance and minimum standards
An Enhanced Partnership (EP) is a legally binding agreement that sets shared aims for bus services. In January 2026, as part of our Better Buses plan, government conducted a review of EPs within the bus sector, including minimum standards. The published report details the findings of the EP review, including strengths and areas of improvement and ways to further strengthen a partnership in the bus services industry.
Joined-up journeys: how integrated transport can be achieved and measured
The Transport Select Committee is currently considering how the costs and benefits of integrating transport should be measured and understood, and how this information influences investment and policy decisions, including rural buses. A report is expected later in 2026.
Every pound invested in local buses brings £4.5m of benefits for communities, the environment and the health of the nation. An investment in buses is an investment in the wellbeing of future generations
Graham Vidler, CEO, Confederation of Passenger Transport
Rural bus in the UK - the context
Rural areas cover around 85% of the UK's landmass are are home to over 9 million people, yet transport options are often limited, car-dependent, and costly. According to Department for Transport figures, buses accounted for about 57% of all public transport journeys in Great Britain in 2025 – that's 4 billion out of 7 billion public transport trips.
The latest DfT bus data, published in February 2026, suggested that nationally, bus boardings outside of London were 85% of the volume observed on the equivalent day in the third week of January 2020, only one percentage point higher compared to the equivalent day in the previous year.
If rural transport fails, multiple UK Government policy objectives fail with it – and rural buses are the key to improving rural transport across the UK.
Rural bus in the UK - the context
Rural areas cover around 85% of the UK's landmass and are home to over 9 million people, yet transport options are often limited, car-dependent, and costly. According to Department for Transport figures, buses accounted for about 57% of all public transport journeys in Great Britain in 2025 – that's 4 billion out of 7 billion public transport trips.
The latest DfT bus data, published in February 2026, suggested that nationally, bus boardings outside of London were 85% of the volume observed on the equivalent day in the third week of January 2020, only one percentage point higher compared to the equivalent day in the previous year.
If rural transport fails, multiple UK Government policy objectives fail with it – and rural buses are the key to improving rural transport across the UK.
Rural buses outside of England
In Wales, some 70 million journeys are made by bus every year, and the Welsh Government is currently planning to move to a franchising framework to boost rural mobility. As of April 2025, data showed Welsh bus passenger numbers were at 78.3% of March 2020 levels, lower than the recovery rates in England and Scotland, with concessionary trips slow to match former levels.
In Scotland, 334 million passenger journeys were taken by bus in 2023-24, a 13% increase from the previous year, with over half (53%) made under the National Concessionary Travel Scheme. As of late 2025, while the legal framework is in place, actual operational, franchised services across Scotland are in the planning and proposal phase rather than widespread operation.
The statistics that show bus ridership falling off a cliff in many parts of the country are staggering… scrutiny of how to revive bus services will be to everyone's benefit, but particularly to young people, older residents and the less well off
Ruth Cadbury, Chair, Transport Committee
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