Reading East MP Matt Rodda challenged the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport over the Government’s handling of bus services.

He called on the Government to make changes, and said: "Surely it is now time for the Government to admit that they have made a serious mistake and for them finally to agree to properly fund our bus services."

Since 2010, Government revenue funding for bus services across Britain has fallen by £700 million (21 per cent) in real terms.

The Transport Spokesman for the Local Government Association has previously said that half of all bus routes are in danger of closing due to a lack of Government funding.

Since 2010/11, supported bus budgets in England and Wales have faced a 45% reduction, with more than 3,600 bus routes being cut or altered since 2010.

Nationally, there has been a decline in passenger journeys.

However in Reading, which has a municipally-owned bus operator, passenger journeys have increased by 31.2% between 2009/10 and 2017/18.

The town is one of the top three performing local authorities with the highest number of passenger journeys per head of population.

Matt stated that it was often the more vulnerable members of society that relied on the use of buses, adding: "it is clear that buses are a lifeline for many elderly people, particularly those living in rural areas."