The Liverpool City Region will benefit from a £1.6bn investment to help deliver the next stage of its transport strategy
General photo of bus stop in Merseyside(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
An “infamous” Merseyside bus route has been used as an example of the region’s underperforming bus network. One person told his local MP the bus he uses “can’t be trusted” as plans were announced to overhaul the city’s transport infrastructure.
Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley has teamed up with Mayor Steve Rotheram to launch the Big Bus Survey, a community transport consultation in Knowsley, asking residents for their priorities on bus network improvements. The feedback from the survey will be submitted to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to inform its spending decisions.
More than 10,000 residents in Knowsley rely on the bus network every day, and the constituency has a higher than average reliance on buses. Ms Midgley said the £1.6bn investment in the region’s transport infrastructure will improve the lives of tens of thousands of people in her borough. One of those people told Ms Midgley: “[One] bus has been infamous for decades.
“Eight out of 10 times I’ve tried to get the bus to work, it’s been late, off-schedule, or cancelled altogether. The timetable can’t be trusted, and the experience of commuting is frustrating. I’ve had to spend a lot of money on Ubers due to buses letting me down.”
These are the words of Huyton resident Joe, according to Ms Midgley, one of thousands of people in Knowsley who face a daily battle with the bus network, to get them to work or school, to important doctors’ appointments, or to see friends and family.
Figures show 36% of households have no car in Knowsley, and more than 10,000 residents rely on buses for transport every day. As a result, Ms Midgley is asking people to take part in the Big Bus Survey to help shape future transport policies and offer suggestions on how the government’s £1.6bn investment should be spent in their neighbourhoods.
The Big Bus Survey is a constituency-wide consultation offering residents the chance to share their experience of the bus network, and feedback on what works well and what needs to be improved. More pertinently, the project hopes to map out where people need to go that they currently can’t, which buses are reliable, and which never show up on time.
Anneliese Midgley MP said: “This Labour Government have given us a massive opportunity to improve transport in the city region with a huge £1.6bn investment.
“I’m working with Mayor Rotheram to make sure Knowsley gets its fair share of that money, and we want to make sure residents have their say on what’s most important to them.
“Whether it’s new destinations, buses that don’t arrive on time, or cost of services, we want to know how things should be improved.
“Let’s get Knowsley moving – transport links are so important to raising standards of living and helping the local economy. There’s so much of my constituency which isn’t properly connected up; I want to see this money spent on sorting that out, making it easier to get to work and school, go the shops, or see the doctor.
“People should be able to travel between Stockbridge, Huyton, Kirkby and Prescot without having to wait hours for a bus or shell out for taxis. Feedback from the survey will form the cornerstone of my work on transport for Knowsley, allowing me to push my constituents’ priorities to the Combined Authority and the Government and make sure change is Knowsley makes a real difference.”
Mayor Steve Rotheram added: “Buses are the backbone of our public transport system, with around 82% of all journeys in the Liverpool City Region made by bus every single day. Yet for far too long, passengers have been forced to contend with services that are too confusing, too expensive, and too disconnected.
“From next year, that changes. We’ll start the process of bringing our buses back where they belong: under public control. It will give us greater control over fares, routes and timetables, so we can ensure that passengers always come before profit.
“The £1.6 billion we’ve secured from government will help us accelerate our ambitions even further. We’re investing in a modern, reliable, future-ready bus fleet and making sure passengers shape the services they rely on. This survey is about putting the ‘public’ back into public transport, and I’d encourage everyone to make sure their voice is heard.”
The Big Bus Survey can be completed online or in hard copy, with local community centres, shops, doctors’ surgeries and libraries being asked to support and promote the campaign and hold copies of the survey form for residents to complete.