THE government has unveiled £7.6m for local authorities to try new ways of delivering local transport in rural areas.

Winning bids for the Total Transport Pilot Fund were announced by the Department for Transport on Friday (27 March).

Some £2 billion is currently provided each year by a number of agencies for local transport funding.

But the government says this funding is often not co-ordinated or integrated at a local level, resulting in duplication and potential waste of public money.

The latest £7.6m announcement will support 37 schemes, providing stable funding from one source to improve transport services in local areas.

Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "Good transport is the lifeblood of local communities and we must ensure every penny spent is being used effectively.

"This is about improving access to the services people rely on most, from getting to school, to the shops or the local hospital.

"It is part of our long term economic plan to improve the lives of hard working people up and down the country.

The Total Transport Pilot Fund competition was launched on 14 January 2015 and 42 bids were received from local authorities in England.

A list of the successful bids is available by clicking here.

The funding would provide the essential first step for local authorities to implement service integration.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander, who is MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey, said: As someone from a rural area, I know the vital importance of well-functioning public transport in helping people get around their local community."

The £7.6m in funding would help local authorities work with schools, hospitals and other local organisations to deliver local services more efficiently, added Mr Alexander.

"They will be able offer people across the country better transport services while saving the taxpayer money.

The project will fund a range of feasibility studies and other groundwork as well as a number of pilot projects to test the real-world scope for service integration in individual areas.

Pilots will run for a maximum of two years, during which time project teams will be encouraged to share what they learn with each other.

At the end of the two years, each scheme will submit a detailed report on the results of delivering integration to the Department for Transport.