Milton Keynes City Council (MKCC) has confirmed a £3.6 million funding package from the Department for Transport to support the city’s bus network, to be delivered in the 2025/26 financial year. The money is a mix of capital and revenue funding intended to protect at‑risk routes and fund new schemes to help more people travel across the city by bus.
The MK Bus Partnership will work with local operators under the council’s Enhanced Partnership to ensure routes that are no longer commercially viable for private operators can be supported. The funding is being made against a backdrop of declining patronage — passenger numbers in the city are down around 15% since 2020 — and is intended to make public transport a more reliable option for more residents.
The plan builds on the January 2025 launch of the Service 9 city loop and prioritises citywide connections and rural links into the centre. The spending plan also includes a mix of capital measures and operating subsidies; it may include upgrades to digital real‑time information at key bus stops and Park & Ride sites to give passengers more accurate arrival information, although specific digital projects have not been publicly confirmed in detail.
Local leaders are also keeping longer‑term structural changes under consideration. As reported by BBC News, the council has welcomed government proposals that would allow local authorities to franchise bus services — a move supporters say would let councils set routes, timetables and fares so services ‘run where people actually need to go, rather than just where they make a profit,’ a point made by Alan Francis of the Milton Keynes Bus Users Group when discussing franchising options.
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