Big Bus Debate launched

A public debate has been launched to find out what people in the city region think about the bus system.

The government is in the process of devolving new powers over how our buses operate.

This public conversation will help inform how those powers are used to drive through major improvements to the network and give greater control back to the public sector and passengers.

Speaking about the announcement, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “Buses are the backbone of our transport system, with more than 400,000 journeys in our city region every day.

“Action to drive up quality has already been taken by Merseytravel and the Combined Authority with our major bus operators.

“And while I can confidently say that we have one of the best bus networks outside London, I’m not willing to accept being second best.

“Despite the improvements we have driven through locally, there are clearly ways in which we can continue to improve, including smarter, simpler and more affordable ticketing and quicker and more reliable services.

“I am launching the big bus debate so that people can tell us what they want to see and together we can build we can build the modern, affordable and reliable public transport system that our city region deserves.

“There are a number of different options for change and I will examine each of these carefully, in the light of what people tell us through this debate, to determine which one will deliver the greatest improvement for fare paying passengers.”

The types of improvements identified could include:

Smarter, simpler, more affordable, and easier to use ticketing
Quicker and more reliable bus journeys, which spend less time stuck in traffic
Greener buses that help improve air quality
Improving buses so that more car users choose to make the switch
Making it easier to switch between different modes of transport, whether cars, buses, trains, walking or cycling, and to find out information about the options in real time

The first phase of the conversation will be an online survey aimed at finding out what perceptions both bus users and non-users have about the bus system and what changes they would like to see.

The survey is available at www.bigbusdebate.info

In the New Year, the next phase of the debate will see face-to-face on-street interviews, conducted across all six of the Combined Authority’s constituent local authorities, to be followed up by qualitative research in the form of focus groups.

All of this research will inform potential changes to be made to the bus system, which will be submitted to government in early 2020.

 

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Air Quality

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Image above is visual only. Click link to see live map. Air quality levels in Liverpool sourced from Liverpool City Council  and Defra.
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