Shropshire Council launches £98m bid to transform bus transport in the county

The council has submitted a bid to the Government as part of the Bus Back Better programme, with green buses, Sunday services, real time passenger information and more affordable fares all part of the programme.

Earlier this year the council held an online consultation asking for thoughts on bus services as they are now, and whether services are used or not. The council had more than 2,500 responses and more than 25 days’ real time experience fed back.

The bid also includes a reimagining of the current Shrewsbury Park & Ride Service as Shrewsbury Connect, with colour-coded buses taking on different routes, meaning more people can get to more places on a single ticket.

Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible for transport, said:

“We are delighted to have submitted a bid for £90 million of Government funding to transform bus services all across Shropshire. We firmly believe that our submission can transform public transport in the county and provide a more sustainable transport network for our residents.

“Earlier this year we asked you how you felt bus services in Shropshire performed and what they could do to improve – we have listened and asked for funding to deliver these changes.

“We don’t want to simply replicate service levels of metropolitan areas, we want a fair reflection of a service that bus users here in Shropshire can expect.”

Telford & Wrekin Council make £40m bid

Telford and Wrekin Council has submitted a £40m bid to deliver a comprehensive package of measures following public consultation in July, where both existing and non-bus users gave their views.

The council hopes for cheaper fares, improved facilities and more frequent services connecting residential with key employment areas and improved rural routes. 

Other areas for consideration included bus shelter and highway changes such as building a network with faster links between key centres, improved services connecting different hubs and even demand responsive services – essentially on demand services when and where people need them. 

Cabinet Member for Economy, Housing, Transport and Infrastructure, Councillor David Wright said: “This is a deliberately ambitious proposal which the government have specifically asked for on how we would like to see bus travel transformed for Telford and Wrekin. 

“The team involved has worked incredibly hard gathering views and putting a proposal together that will improve not only the way services are run but also how we access and pay for them. 

“National government really does needs to provide significant levels of ongoing funding if we are going to deliver improved services for local people. 

“We will carefully prioritise funding to focus on the needs of residents and businesses, shaping the service to suit their needs.”

Further proposals include plans for replacing almost half the existing vehicles with new zero-emission vehicles as part of the council’s plans to develop a zero-emissions fleet over the coming years - including the introduction of battery-operated vehicles.