Britain’s Department for Transport (DfT) has announced GBP220m (US$269m) in funding, which will include an initiative to set up what it maintains will be the UK’s “first all-electric bus town.”
The town has not yet been named, but the GBP220m package in the first year, will see many cuts to services reversed and create express lanes for buses in the UK’s West Midlands and elsewhere.
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It will invest in new ways of providing more frequent public transport in the countryside and other places where conventional buses have dwindled or disappeared. And new apps will also be developed, which draw together information on bus routes, fares, and timetables from different operators across England into one place.
The government will also commit to the UK’s first long-term bus strategy and funding settlement, including support for local authorities who want to create London-style franchised services in their areas.
A ‘Superbus’ network will be introduced across the county of Cornwall. The fares pilot is part of a project to improve the quality, frequency and capacity of rail and bus services to create an integrated public transport system for Cornwall.
Buses are disproportionately used by people on lower incomes and Cornwall has been chosen as a county with what the DfT says is significant deprivation and social exclusion. For many people, the cost and difficulty of travel is a major barrier to getting work.
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By GlobalDataOther Superbus networks will be rolled out next year, with the focus on places which suffer similar problems and where better public transport could significantly improve people’s lives and will consider improvements in frequency and bus prioritisation.
The package also includes more than GBP20m for new express bus lanes in the West Midlands.
A further GBP30m will be paid directly to local authorities in 2020 to 2021, to help them improve current bus services or restore those which have been lost.
Britain’s first all-electric bus town will see city buses changed over to wireless electric vehicles. Country buses will be hybrids, using electric power within the built-up area and diesel outside.
Location is still being discussed with local authorities as well as operators and will be announced later.
The long-term funding package will be announced as part of the 2020 spending review. It will set out our plans to support local authorities which want to pursue London-style bus systems in their areas.
The area where such proposals are most advanced, is Greater Manchester, which is shortly due to consult on adopting a proposed franchised model in 2020.
The package will also support other areas which would prefer to pursue other forms of co-ordination, such as voluntary or statutory partnerships with operators.
Despite the optimistic noises surrounding UK buses, the Routemaster manufacturer, Wrightbus recently entered administration in Northern Ireland, threatening up to 1,800 jobs.
In an ironic twist, the Routemaster was introduced on London streets by then London Mayor and current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
It is as yet unclear whether any of the GBP220m government money earmarked for buses will go towards securing further investment for Wrightbus, although the issue has been discussed in the UK Parliament this week.
