Government finally unveils £150m national funding pot for buses and trams - but is it enough to save our services?

The Government has announced a package of 'more than £150m' to fund buses and trams across England for the next six months.

The 11th-hour reprieve followed urgent appeals from transport leaders in Greater Manchester after a brutal two years of falling passenger numbers, staff absence and over £200m in Government bail-outs.

However, the announcement may not be the saving grace transport bosses had hoped for.

READ MORE: ‘Communities could be cut off’: Third of bus services affected by £70m blackhole

The Manchester Evening News is awaiting a response from Mayor Andy Burnham and Transport for Greater Manchester(TfGM).

But on Friday, the chairman of the Greater Manchester Transport Committee had cited the need for £30m for buses and £40m for Metrolink over the next finanical year.

And while the DfT are yet to reveal how their 'safeguarding' funding will be shared between the regions, Greater Manchester's ask for the financial year was around half of what is on the table for the next six months for the whole of England.

Not only that, but the pot will be the 'last tranche', according to the DfT statement.

And the money comes with a caveat. At the end of the statement, the DfT says the money is 'dependent on local areas and operators co-designing a financially sustainable and passenger focussed public transport network, that works for changing travel patterns post-pandemic'.

The concern for leaders now is that 'financially sustainable' could translate to service cuts and price increases.

Coun Phil Burke, member of the TfGM Committee and Rochdale's transport lead, said he was 'appalled at the attitude of Government'.

He added: "We've been warned by bus companies that we are going to see routes cut.

"In Rochdale alone we've