£95million funding bid to boost bus services in Derbyshire
Hydrogen-powered buses could also become a regular site on Derbyshire roads.
Derbyshire County Council is bidding for £95 million in Government funding to drastically improve bus services in the area – particularly for underserved, rural communities.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThis would, in theory, result in more frequent buses at times outside of the regular 9-5 and at a cheaper price.
All of this hinges on a formal agreement between the county council and bus companies in Derbyshire, including Stagecoach, Trentbarton, Hulleys and Midland Classic.
This would see the county council gain more of a say in what routes are provided and at what times, on which days and for what price.At the moment, this is all down to the companies themselves.
The county council has endeavoured over the years to step in to subsidise bus routes across Derbyshire which are less financially viable and which may be dropped by their providers as a result, however, with council budgets dwindling, this too has reduced in recent years.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBefore the pandemic, 80 per cent of bus passenger journeys in Derbyshire were on commercially-operated routes, with the remaining 20 per cent on routes funded by the council.Council officials hope that through a formal “enhanced partnership” the authority and companies can agree on which routes must be provided as a necessity even if they are not profitable.
This is, in part, to avoid rural communities being cut off and residents without their own transport or who have disabilities being disadvantaged.It is also an aim to prevent unequal access to education and employment.
However, a key part of the deal would include the council having to pump a lot of money into improving bus stops and bus priority measures, such as bus lanes at traffic lights on key congested routes.
Cllr Barry Lewis, county council leader, said the current situation was “frustrating” because residents would ask the authority to improve bus services, but this responsibility fell to the companies themselves.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdCllr Garry Purdy, leader of Derbyshire Dales District Council, said: “We have been trying for years to get this set up and we have had lots of bus routes dropping off.”
Cllr Anthony Mckeown, leader of High Peak Borough Council, highlighted that it was currently “impossible” to travel by bus from Glossop to Matlock in time for 9am.
He said improvements needed to focus on improving services, more than infrastructure. He said a key issue at the moment was a lack of routes operating after 6pm and on Sundays.
Chris Hegarty, the county’s passenger transport coordinator, said the enhanced partnership would mean the council has “a lot more say in the development of local bus services and so it can provide the benefits we need to provide instead of a commercially-driven enterprise”.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe county’s plan would include the introduction of more environmentally-friendly buses, including those which are hydrogen powered.
He wrote in a report that there would be a “review of car parking charges and action to reduce inconsiderate roadside parking and enforce traffic restrictions on bus routes, stops and at bus lanes”.
There would be a “major expansion” of existing bus priority systems at traffic signals.