A total of 26 bus services that had been threatened with the axe are to be saved following a six-week review.
They were among 39 services which were placed at risk due to unprecedented rising costs following increases in fuel prices, driver shortages and reduced passenger numbers since the Covid 19 pandemic.
Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) steps in to fund and part-fund services deemed socially necessary where commercial bus companies are unable to provide the service for profit.
These subsidies are targeted at services where there are gaps in the region’s bus network to ensure as many residents as possible have access to bus services.
However, despite an £800,000 increase in the annual subsidy – taking the total budget to £16.3 million – TfWM was unable to fully fund the 117 bus service contracts up for renewal at the end of December so 39 were placed at risk and subject to the six week review.
Of these approximately 26 have now been saved and regrettably, as a result of the challenging environment, 13 services will cease operation at the end of the year.
The review looked at which services delivered the most benefit for passengers and considered the following:
While many routes will be retained as they are, some will have routes or timetables altered.
The full list of changes is available on the TfWM.org.uk website and will be communicated to passengers ahead of the change on 1st January 2023.
Pete Bond, TfWM director of integrated transport services, said: “Bus services are the backbone of our transport network carrying around 80% of public transport journeys in the region.
“But the environment for bus operators is highly challenging right now so some difficult decisions have had to be made.
“We were, by making the most use of funding available, able to save the majority of at risk services and keep the disruption to a minimum.
“But this unfortunately means that some people will have lost their local bus service, but I would urge them to check the TfWM website and journey planner to see what alternatives are available.
“There is still some good news for travellers on the bus network, including the fare freeze agreed with operators to keep fares at the current levels until 2025 – this is already protecting passengers from cost of living rises we are seeing elsewhere meaning the West Midlands has some of the lowest fares across England.
“In the medium term we are also planning further investment in bus priority lanes and cross-city services. These are all designed to make bus a more attractive, affordable and convenient alternative to the car – such as on the A45 where Sprint bus lanes are already cutting journey times and improving reliability of timetables.”
The fare freeze is just one part of a wide-ranging Bus Service Improvement Plan being developed by TfWM, backed by £88 million, ring-fenced Department for Transport funding,
to make buses more attractive, convenient and affordable for passengers. Further proposals include streamlined fares and ticketing, more transport safety officers on patrol, and incentives for car users to switch to bus.
This is on top of the funding secured through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which will develop bus lanes and bus priority measures, new cross-city bus routes and further improvements in live travel information over the next five years to help improve reliability of services.
The region’s private bus operators are also making changes to commercial networks and timetables and these will also be published, both by the operators and TfWM on bus stops, websites and smartphone apps over the coming weeks.
