Number of buses and coaches in Luton has fallen by a third over last nine years

It comes as fewer buses were licensed across the UK at the end of last year than in any year since 2014.

The RAC said the fall is "disappointing", while the Campaign for Better Transport urged the Government to work with local authorities and bus operators to expand and improve bus services.

Latest Department for Transport figures show that there were 569 buses and coaches licenced in Luton at the end of 2023. This number was up from 554 the year before, but represented a significant fall of 34 per cent since 2014, when there were 862.

Some 141,300 buses and coaches were registered across the UK at the end of last year, a 16 per cent decline from nine years prior.

Rod Dennis, a spokesperson for the RAC, said the fall is "disappointing at a time when so much public money is being spent on trying to make bus travel more attractive".

He added: "It is little wonder then that so many people are as dependent on their cars as they are."

Silviya Barrett, the director of policy and campaigns at the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Schemes such as the £2 bus fare cap have helped to boost bus passenger numbers, but they are no substitute for long-term funding, and these figures show we still have a way to go to halt the vicious cycle of bus cuts.

"The Government must do more to support all local authorities so they can work with bus operators to run quality services and expand provision for the millions of people who rely on buses every day."

The Bus Users campaign group said that losing bus services leaves people "without vital access to education, healthcare, employment, friends and family".

Chief executive of Bus Users, Claire Walter, said: "Funding for bus services is an investment that boosts local economies, reduces congestion and pollution, and improves health and wellbeing.

"We need ongoing, ring-fenced funding to protect these lifeline services for the future."