Lancashire County Council is asking people to say what would make them more likely to choose to catch the bus by completing a quick online survey.
It follows the government’s launch of The National Bus Strategy, which sets out how councils and bus operators should work more closely together, and alongside local communities, to create a network that reflects people’s priorities.
The County Council is working closely with bus operators to prepare for a major change in the way buses are funded and organised following the government’s launch of the strategy, Bus Back Better, in March 2021.
The strategy sets out an ambitious vision to improve bus services in England, outside London, through greater local leadership, to reverse the recent shift in journeys away from public transport and encourage passengers back to using the bus.
The focus is on councils and bus operators working more closely together, and alongside local communities, to create a network that people want.
The aim is to create services that are more frequent, reliable and affordable, while making them easier for passengers to understand and use.
Depending on people’s priorities for improving services, this could result in simpler, cheaper fares, consistent high-quality information about services in more places, and more efficient and frequent services in the evenings and weekends.
In response to the new government strategy, back in June the county council made the decision to develop an Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme (EP) – a detailed agreement between the county council and transport operators about how services will operate, and be improved in future.
Bus service improvement plan
According to the government’s timetable, the Enhanced Partnership Plan needs to be in place by the end of March 2022.
The first step towards achieving this is the publication of a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) by 31 October 2021 which sets out the current local situation, providing information about passenger numbers, fares, bus speeds, road congestion, and other factors affecting how buses operate in Lancashire.
It will also detail how services are currently designed with local people in mind, and the main barriers to more people choosing to use the bus for regular journeys.
The bus service improvement plan will also include an analysis of what people in Lancashire want from their bus services, and the areas they think should be the focus of future improvements.
The county council and operators will then use the BSIP as the basis for producing a Bus Strategy for Lancashire, and an Enhanced Partnership Plan and Scheme (EP). Once a draft of this document has been produced, there will be an opportunity for people to offer their feedback as part of a formal consultation process so that their priorities are reflected in the final strategy.
If you have any queries regarding the survey contact the Public Transport Team by emailing busservices@lancashire.gov.uk