Mersey Reporter - #Merseybites #News

ALMOST £110m is to be invested in the Liverpool City Region bus network, Mayor Steve Rotheram has today announced, as part of plans to radically improve services.

If agreed at next week’s Combined Authority meeting, the funding will be used to improve journey times and reliability, upgrade and purchase depot facilities and create a brand new bus interchange in St Helens Town Centre.

The money will also be used to purchase dozens of new zero-emission electric buses. This is in addition to the 58 electric double deckers already secured by the Region in April this year, via the ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Regional Area) fund.

Money is also being committed to reinstating dedicated bus lanes in Liverpool for the first time since they were removed 2014.

News of the funding boost comes as work to bring the region’s bus network back into public control continues to move forward at pace.

Following a major public consultation in which around 70% of people backed the plans, in 2023 Mayor Rotheram took the landmark decision to franchise bus services in the Liverpool City Region.

With franchised services set to begin in St Helens in 2026 and introduced across the Region by the end of 2027, the new system will allow greater local control of fares, timetables and routes.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:- "Hundreds of thousands of people in our area rely on buses to get about every day; more than 80% of all public transport journeys in the region are taken by bus. But we need to put the public back at the heart of public transport. Last year, I took control of our buses in the biggest shake up to the region’s transport in decades and the change will be transformational. For the first time in almost 40 years, we will have control over fares, tickets and routes and will be able to ensure that services are run in the best interests of passengers; not shareholders. We need to make our buses a greener, dependable and more affordable option. This investment is laying the groundwork for those improvements as franchised services begin to hit the roads in 2026."

More than £32m from the proposed investment package will fund the building a new bus and multimodal transport interchange in St Helens. The project is part of a wider programme of works to regenerate the town centre and is being jointly delivered with St Helens Borough Council.

Funding will also be targeted at some of the Region’s busiest bus routes; including the:- 10A from Liverpool to St Helens, 53 from Liverpool to Crosby and 86 Liverpool to John Lennon Airport; with the aim of improving punctuality, reliability and journey times.

If approved, a total £108.1m will be drawn from the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS), a £710 million pot dedicated to supporting the delivery of transformational transport projects across the Liverpool City Region.