MORE than £5million will be spent on schemes to improve bus travel in Staffordshire next year.
The Government has awarded Staffordshire County Council £5.26million for implementing its bus service improvement plan (BSIP) in 2025-26.
Approved by cabinet members earlier this year, it includes proposals for a raft of schemes, including bus station refurbishments and upgrades to bus stops across the county.
Council chiefs say they are now awaiting guidance from the Department for Transport on what the money can be spent on.
Staffordshire has also been allocated £5.1million of revenue funding to “stabilise” current bus services, most of which was previously announced as part of the Network North transport programme.
Cllr Mark Deaville, cabinet member for strategic highways, said:
“We want Staffordshire people to be better connected with improved travel options.
“Although the county council doesn’t run buses, we have worked hard to ensure we have the best possible funding support from the Department for Transport in Staffordshire. This will stabilise the bus network and allow operators to develop innovative plans to attract passengers back to buses.
“We are awaiting the detailed guidance on the use of this money before we can announce exactly how it will be used.
“Bus services not only get people to and from work and the classroom, but support town centre retail and leisure businesses and help reduce carbon emissions by leaving the car at home.
“We’ll work closely with operators to ensure we get the best outcomes for Staffordshire residents and to promote a sustainable transport network wherever possible.”
There are currently 19 bus operators running more than 200 services across Staffordshire.
But passenger journeys in the county have fallen by 44% since 2017.
Most of the funding to keep Staffordshire’s services running comes from public subsidy, with fares contributing less than 50%.
The county council’s BSIP aims to turn around the recent decline by making services more attractive and reliable, with better connections between towns, villages and railway stations.
Capital projects in the plan include improvements to the bus station in Lichfield and bus stop upgrades on key routes, such as real time passenger information.
According to the cabinet report earlier this year, carrying out all the proposals over the 2025 to 2029 period will require £32million of revenue and £23million of capital funding.
Please may we have our evening buses back! M
“Capital projects in the plan include improvements to the bus station in Lichfield”! Should someone tell Staffordshire County Council that Lichfield District Council plans to demolish and build over the bus station? Perhaps it’s time SCC had a word with LDC to persuade them not to go ahead with such wanton destruction of public assets. It’s certainly not something you should be doing if you wish to improve bus services in Staffordshire.
A couple of later services between Lichfield and Cannock on a Friday and Saturday night would be appreciated.