£47m funding boost means bus service improvements

BUS services in Derbyshire will be improved thanks to a £47 million award handed to the county council.

Last year the government published a new National Bus Strategy which set out a vision for future improvements across England and how bus services can recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The strategy placed a requirement on the council and bus companies in the area to work together to create a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

Working with bus operators, district and borough councils, bus passenger groups, disability groups and other special interest organisations, a consultation was held last year, which asked the public what they wanted to see to improve bus services.

The results helped to inform the BSIP, which was submitted to the Government last year and asked for money to improve services across the county.

Derbyshire’s success in gaining £47 million provides the money which will help pay for:

More frequent buses and extended hours for vital services;

Improved bus punctuality and reliability;

Better value bus fares, especially for young people and those looking for work;

Expansion of the ‘tap on and tap off’ system for paying for tickets;

New transport hubs with Real Time Information to help connect bus services to other bus and train services;

More demand responsive services for rural and semi-rural areas;

A new website and app which will cover all services to make planning a journey much easier.

It is expected that work will start on delivering these improvements from October 2022.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Assets and Transport, Kewal Singh Athwal, said: “Bus services will become so much more attractive to more people and will mean less traffic on our roads. This will make a positive contribution to tackling climate change.

“We will build on the positive work to date and continue to work in partnership with all the bus companies on a wide range of projects to improve bus travel.”