PROMISED government funding for Britain’s crumbling bus services is a “drop in the ocean” compared with the value of cuts over the past decade, unions said yesterday.

Plans to invest £170 million in bus services, as well as pledges to make buses electric by 2025 and introducing “Uber-style” apps for buses in some areas, fall far short of what is needed, said Unite and RMT.

Since 2010, thousands of bus routes have been axed across the country, as funding declined by 40 per cent.

Unite passenger transport national officer Bobby Morton said: “The money being pledged for the creation and the reinstatement of bus routes is an absolute drop in the ocean compared to what has been cut from bus services.

“It is vital that that there is proper long-term investment in bus services and not one-off publicity-seeking stunts which simply don’t address the needs of bus users.”

RMT general secretary Mick Cash added: “Rather than paper over the cracks, this government needs to introduce a national bus strategy, underpinned by serious investment and public ownership.”