This weekend Wirral bus services in Wirral will return to public control for the first time in 40 years with weekend and evening timetables set to expand. Tony McDonough reports
Bus services across Wirral will return to public control for the first time in 40 years this weekend as Mayor Steve Rotheram’s bus franchising plan enters the next phase.
In September bus services in St Helens became the first to make the switch. It now has more frequent services including evenings and weekends, better connections, improved hospital and rail links, and a new express service to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
Mr Rotheram’s network gives the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority greater control over routes, timetables and standards, ensuring services are shaped around local communities. The £2 single fare cap will also remain in place across the city region.
On Sunday Wirral will be the next borough to see a reversal of the deregulation of bus services introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative Government in 1986.
Passengers will see expanded weekend and evening timetables, more frequent services and improved connections across the borough – with new services linking to both Arrowe Park Hospital and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
An all-new bus fleet will also be rolled out across the Wirral network, decked out in the region’s distinctive yellow and grey Metro livery. These low-emission vehicles offer better seats, USB charging and more space for wheelchairs and prams.
“In just a few days’ time, we are taking the next huge step in turning the page on four decades of deregulated, fragmented bus services and bringing Wirral’s network back under public control where it belongs,” said the Mayor.
“We’ve already seen in St Helens what a difference this can make, and people across Wirral will start seeing the benefits from day one – more buses, better evening and weekend services, improved connections and a brand-new fleet.”
Key changes to the bus network include:
- More frequent services: Buses will run more often on some key routes, with increased daytime frequencies alongside extra evening, Sunday and early-morning buses.
- Extended routes and improved links: Popular routes are being extended and re-timed to better connect local residents to key destinations, including Arrowe Park Hospital and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, town centres and local rail interchanges.
- Network numbering: Most bus services in Wirral are getting new numbers to remove duplicates across the region and create one easy-to-understand network – all routes will now start with 4, eg service 17 will become 417.