Stoke-on-Trent City Council has outlined a £70m plan to improve bus services across the city.
The council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan has been submitted to the UK government, and sets out how the authority aims to work in partnership with bus operators in the area to increase passenger numbers and improve reliability and journey times.
The government has pledged £3bn in funding across the country to improve bus services for passengers, and Stoke-on-Trent is aiming to secure a share of this.
The package of proposals put forward cover two phases, with the first phase seeking funding to enable bus operators First Potteries, Arriva and D&G Bus to continue operating at their current levels of service once the government’s emergency Covid-19 Bus Recovery Grant finishes in April 2022.
Depending on the final funding allocation, phase two could include:
- Further funding to increase bus services, including more frequent buses, particularly in the evening and on Sundays;
- Bus priority measures to help buses run on time, including a new traffic signal system that can give buses priority at junctions, and major infrastructure improvements with new roads and upgrades to existing routes;
- Lower and simpler fares including the same age cap on young person fares across all operators and a multi-operator fare cap that guarantees a maximum daily fare regardless of the operator/services used;
- Network identity and branding applied to all buses, to support the aim to make the multi-operator ticket the ‘default’ for bus users;
- Journey information upgrades with improved information available prior to travel, at bus stops and on buses;
- A joint Bus Passenger Charter to be agreed by the city council, bus operators and bus user groups;
- Improved access and safety to include raised kerbs at more stops, CCTV on buses, and CCTV and improved lighting at key bus stops.
Cllr Daniel Jellyman, cabinet member for infrastructure, regeneration and heritage, Stoke-on-Trent City Council, said: “This is the first step towards setting up a franchising scheme, and bringing local bus services into public control.
“This is a big opportunity to reform bus travel in the city that would see passengers benefit from more frequent, more reliable and easier to use buses. The chance provided by government to bid for extra funding would really accelerate our plans in this area.
“The total package value of what we are putting forward is around £70m but it’s important to stress this isn’t a funding bid at this stage, it’s a high-level proposal for what we want to achieve in the city which the Department for Transport will now consider.”
