Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a major funding boost for public transport in the Bristol and Bath region.
In his Autumn Budget on Wednesday (October 27), he confirmed a cash injection of 拢540m for the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) region - or 拢568 per head.
The money was only available to regions with metro mayors - and other areas to be given funding include Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and the Liverpool City Region.
The 拢568 per head of population compares with 拢454 for Liverpool, 拢376 for Greater Manchester and 拢354 for West Yorkshire.
According to the West of England mayor Dan Norris, the money will be 鈥減redominantly鈥 spent on improving buses.
鈥淸It is] the quickest way to begin to tackle congestion and pollution locally,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 welcome the formal announcement of half a billion pounds for local transport. This is money only available to metro mayors and was secured because of our strategic bid. This is the biggest per head transport investment in any region of the country."
Mr Norris said the announcement was an 鈥渋mportant vote of confidence鈥 in the West of England - but said it would also help the region reach its net zero targets by 2030.
Currently, only one in 11 commutes are made by public transport, according to the mayor.
鈥淓veryone locally knows why we need the cash. It鈥檚 to tackle traffic jams and the congestion holding us back,鈥 he said.
鈥淎 big thank you to everyone involved in making this happen including the unitary authority leaders for agreeing to back a strategic bid with local contributions, and to our local civil servants on doing the essential legwork to make this happen.
鈥淣ow we must deliver. If we show the government we can get on with the job, they will trust us with more devolution, more powers, resources and cash. So let鈥檚 make it work.鈥
Mr Sunak also announced a 拢200m regional fund for the South West as a key part of the government鈥檚 commitment to overcoming regional imbalances.
Business leaders across the West of England had mixed reactions to the Autumn statement, which included some big headline pledges such as a rise in the minimum wage, a 50% business rate cut for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses, and a 鈥渄raught relief鈥 helping pubs selling draught beer and cider.
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