FILE PHOTO: Britain's Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps is seen outside Downing Street, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in London, Britain March 17, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

(Reuters) - UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps will offer millions of pounds to bus companies this week in the latest bailout by the government since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

Shapps, at an online meeting of the House of Commons Transport Select Committee last week, said he was drawing up a "sector-specific deal" to help bus companies, which have seen a 78 per cent fall in passenger numbers, the Financial Times reported here, citing sources.

The bus compensation deal is expected to last for a period of six months, the newspaper reported.