New funding round for Scottish bus projects announced
The Scottish government has announced a second round of funding worth £3m for bus projects across Scotland.
The cash has been earmarked for the Bus Investment Fund (BIF), which was set up in an effort to improve Scotland's bus services.
Projects will be able to apply for up to £500,000 over two years from the Transport Scotland challenge fund.
Last year 13 projects received grants totalling £4.2m under the first round of the BIF.
They included the roll-out of real-time passenger information in West Lothian, new travel hubs in Aberdeenshire and the development of new community transport services in Dumfries & Galloway.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "We set up the Bus Investment Fund in April last year to encourage and support partnership working to improve bus services for communities across Scotland, for example by improving infrastructure or raising quality.
"We were pleasantly surprised to receive 45 bids for a wide range of projects and were also encouraged to see the ambition, diversity and geographical spread of ideas.
"Following the interest shown in the first round of the fund and the range of proposals, I am pleased to announce further funding in a bid to increase the standard of bus services and patronage across Scotland."