Merseyside alliance between operators and councils delivers £3.5m improvements
The impact of £3.5m improvements, thanks to the work of the Liverpool City Region Better Bus Area project (BBA), has seen a jump in bus user satisfaction.
The BBA is a positive collaboration between Merseytravel, Knowsley, Halton and St Helens Borough Councils and operators Arriva, Stagecoach, Halton Transport and Huyton Travel.
It has been responsible for coordinating and delivering bus infrastructure improvements in Knowsley, St Helens and Halton during the past four years (2013-14 to 2017-18).
Now, 90% of passengers are satisfied with their journey compared with 87% in 2014.
Satisfaction with punctuality has jumped by 7% to 77%, while satisfaction with value for money has also increased by 7% to 77%.
There has also been an increase in satisfaction with service reliability; up 5% to 74%.
Relieving congestion, improving connectivity and improving infrastructure are the BBA’s core aims.
BBA members identify and then allocate funds and resources to improvement schemes, which can include upgrading traffic signals, bus stops or road junctions that will contribute towards achieving those aims.
Recent works have seen highway, bus stop and information improvements in Knowsley, Halton and St Helens.
Says Cllr Liam Robinson, chair of the Combined Authority Transport Committee, which oversees the work of Merseytravel, says: “The BBA is very much a pre-cursor to the Liverpool City Region Bus Alliance and was highlighted by the Department for Transport (DfT) as a strong example of best practice for partnership working.
“We want to build on the successful foundations cemented by the Bus Alliance and Better Bus Area and utilise the new devolved powers in the Bus Services Act to be able to take this to the next level and deliver even more customer-focused improvements and benefits.”
