The programme will include NCT buses and NET trams, as well as bus operators Trentbarton, CT4N, Vectare and Stagecoach(Image: Nottingham Post/Marie Wilson)

New £300k fund to bankroll Nottingham tram and bus discounts for 'cost of living' support

The scheme is designed to assist city workers and help keep employers in Nottingham

by · NottinghamshireLive

A new fund will bankroll tram and bus discounts for Nottingham commuters to offer cost of living support. Nottingham City Council has decided to use £304,000 of government funding to offer a 20 per cent public transport discount to city commuters.

The authority will use cash from the Department for Transport's (DfT) Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) to offer cut-price 12-month season tickets purchased via employer salary sacrifice schemes from October to March 31, 2025. The scheme will operate throughout the greater Nottingham area and include bus operators Trentbarton, CT4N, Vectare and Stagecoach, as well as NCT buses and NET trams.

A decision report, penned by transport officer Richard Wellings, said: "The scheme has a range of direct benefits for both citizens, public and private sector organisations and wider Nottingham City Council objectives. These include "cost of living" support for local commuters alongside support of employee recruitment and retention at local public / private sector organisations through more attractive staff benefits."

As well as keeping companies in Nottingham, council officials said the programme would help firms to become more sustainable. It would also improve air quality, support transport decarbonisation and tackle congestion which impacts negatively on the local economy, the report explained.

"The subsidy is proportional, necessary, and aligns with sustainability and economic objectives," Mr Wellings added. Council officers explained the key risk of the scheme was financial.

Agreements will be put in place between Nottingham City Council, Nottinghamshire County Council and all participating public transport operators to terminate it if demand could not be met by the allocated funds. The city council said modelling had been undertaken to ensure there was enough funding to cover uptake.

The addition of a commuter discount scheme to the BSIP programme, which aimed to support commercial bus networks by bringing in new passengers, has also been approved by the DfT. The cash-strapped city council has been given approval by its spend control board to use the funding needed to operate the scheme.