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IMPRESS.
WIRRAL residents are being asked what they would like to see from their future bus services ahead of the biggest shake up to the Liverpool City Region’s transport network in almost 40 years.
Last year Mayor Steve Rotheram made the landmark decision to take back control of bus services in the Liverpool City Region following the recommendation of local authority leaders. The decision followed a major public consultation in which around 70% of people backed plans for franchising.
The Combined Authority will now work to deliver a franchised bus service for the region that will, in the future, will allow greater local control over fares, routes and timetables.
Bus franchising is set to be introduced in phases from 2026, beginning in St Helens and Wirral. A fully franchised system is set to be in place across the whole of the City Region by the end of 2027.
Cllr Foulkes, Chair of the Transport Committee at the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority said:- “Hundreds of thousands of people in our area rely on buses to get about every day, with 82% of all public transport journeys locally taken by bus. Franchising is the biggest shake up to our region’s buses in four decades and, while it will take a few years to make all the changes we want to see to the entire network, the results will be transformational. The new system will mean we have greater control over fares, tickets and routes and are able to ensure that services are run in the best interests of the public and not private shareholders. Now we want to hear from people in Wirral about what they think of the plans for franchised services in the borough, and what kind of changes might encourage them to use buses more often.”
The Combined Authority today starts 4 weeks of public engagement with people being invited to take part in an online survey or attend 1 of 16 in-person roadshows being held across the borough.
Residents will be able to give feedback on bus connections they would like to see and potential future improvements to the network. The survey will also ask people to suggest future changes that might encourage them to uses buses more frequently.
The engagement follows a similar consultation in St Helens where residents were also asked for their views on the plans for new publicly operated bus services in the borough and the wider region. In the coming months people will also be invited to make their voice heard about services in Halton, Liverpool, Knowsley and Sefton.
Cllr Paula Basnett, Leader of Wirral Council, said:- "Buses criss-cross Wirral connecting communities both within the borough and with our neighbours, with tens of thousands of people relying on them every day. To be useful and relevant the bus service must be reliable and affordable, allowing people to use them to get to work and college, for shopping or seeing their family and friends. Mayor Rotheram is seeking bring buses back into public control and is asking for residents to give their views on his plans. By taking part in this consultation on the proposals you can help to shape the future of public transport in our Region."
The engagement will run from:- Monday, 13 October 2025 until midnight on Sunday, 9 November 2025
