CHESHIRE East has missed out on vital government funding to help transform the borough's local bus services.
The government has announced that only 31 counties, city regions and unitary authorities have been chosen for funding to level up their services as part of Whitehall's 'Bus Back Better' transformation programme.
Cheshire East was not included in the announcement, with many other rural councils also excluded.
Cheshire West and Chester Council's £37m bid for funding to improve its bus services was also unsuccessful.
However, neighbouring Greater Manchester is to get more than £1bn to boost its bus trams and wider transport network. The cash will pave the way for the Bee Network: a transformational, London-style transport system for the city region.
Cheshire East Council had submitted a funding bid to the Department for Transport, containing what it described as "ambitious plans" to transform bus services across the borough.
The Cheshire East Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) set out proposals to work with local communities, public transport users and local bus operators to secure services and deliver transformational change across the network.
The plan sought to deliver better quality, more reliable and more frequent buses, with simpler, integrated ticketing between bus routes and other public transport.
Following the cash blow, the council has committed to move forward with a scaled-back programme of improvements.
Craig Browne, who chairs Cheshire East's highways and transport committee, described the borough's exclusion from funding as a "deeply disappointing blow".
He added: "Sadly, for many of our residents this is now going to mean 'Bus Back Worse'.
"We submitted an ambitious plan to improve the speed, reliability and quality of public transport, so that it would help encourage more residents to choose the bus, make fewer car journeys, reduce the demand for parking and improve our air quality. Unfortunately, our request has fallen on deaf ears.
"The bus network in Cheshire East is facing a number of challenges due to a long-term structural decline in passengers - including a 24 per cent fall in passenger journeys since 2011 - compounded by recent loss of custom during the Covid-19 pandemic, staff shortages and exceptionally high costs inflation affecting fuel and wages.
"Without the investment needed to deliver our improvement plan, I fear we are likely to see a further decline in the availability of bus services in Cheshire East."
Laura Crane, who chairs the members' advisory panel on the BSIP, said: "This is desperately disappointing news. Bus services face a real existential threat in whole areas of the country, not just in Cheshire East.
"Passengers need to be confident that they will get the reliable, safe and cost-effective transport that they expect.
"We need a bus service that works for our residents - one that is convenient and reliable, more user-friendly and greener, to ensure bus travel survives and begins again to thrive, rather than becoming a thing of the past. Government funding is vital for this."
The current bus service in Cheshire East is delivered across 54 routes and operated by nine companies. Of those routes, 23 are either wholly or part subsidised by the council, which equates to approximately £2.1million a year.
Cheshire West and Chester Council's £37m bid for funding to improve its bus services was also unsuccessful.