Mayor Steve Rotheram has unveiled a 110 million GBP programme to significantly improve the Liverpool City Region bus network.
If approved at this week’s Combined Authority meeting, the funding will deliver new electric buses and route improvements.
Specifically, the programme is expected to improve journey times and reliability, alongside upgrading and purchasing depot facilities.
For example, it will see dedicated bus lanes reinstated in Liverpool for the first time since they were removed in 2014. Meanwhile, more than 32 million GBP will be invested in building a new bus and multimodal transport interchange in St Helens.
In addition, the funding will support the purchase of new electric buses. These vehicles will join the 58 electric double-deckers already secured by the region in April.
This funding complements the region’s work to bring its bus network back into public control. In 2023, Mayor Rotheram committed to franchising bus services in the Liverpool City Region. This followed a major public consultation in which around 70% of people supported the plans.
Franchised services are scheduled to commence in St Helens in 2026 and will be introduced across the region by the end of 2027. This transition will provide greater local control of fares, timetables and routes.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:Hundreds of thousands of people in our area rely on buses to get about every day – more than 80% of all public transport journeys in the region are taken by bus. But we need to put the public back at the heart of public transport.
Last year, I took control of our buses in the biggest shake-up to the region’s transport in decades and the change will be transformational. For the first time in almost 40 years, we will have control over fares, tickets and routes and will be able to ensure that services are run in the best interests of passengers – not shareholders.
We need to make our buses a greener, dependable and more affordable option. This investment is laying the groundwork for those improvements as franchised services begin to hit the roads in 2026.
