Funding for Worcestershire Transport

[DD12]

https://www.route-one.net/news/local-tr ... -midlands/

I cannot remember if this tranche of £ has been discussed yet on this forum, but this £209 million for Worcestershire has the POTENTIAL to help Worcester and South Worcestershire buses.

There is, unfortunately, a long list of reasons why it will quite possibly FAIL to make much impact, - but we can keep our fingers crossed !!

[ANDREW]

Will this ££££ result in some new [or newer] buses ??

[AdamH]

Late night buses! Someone is going to have to train the drivers where the light switch is.

[TimBrown]

https://www.route-one.net/news/local-tr ... -midlands/

I cannot remember if this tranche of £ has been discussed yet on this forum, but this £209 million for Worcestershire has the POTENTIAL to help Worcester and South Worcestershire buses.

There is, unfortunately, a long list of reasons why it will quite possibly FAIL to make much impact, - but we can keep our fingers crossed !!

A figure £209,642,000 has been quoted for Worcestershire, but this is over a 7 year period meaning approximately £30 million per year and it must be spread over a raft of different transport projects 'that matter to communities' including roadbuilding, pothole repairs, electric vehicle charge points and many other areas of work, which may leave precious little to 'level up' bus public transport. We also have an ailing local railway system plagued by infrastructure problems, lack of drivers and less than reliable new DEMUs and DMUs! On top of this, the money doesn't come on main stream until 2025 which will be after the General Election and who knows what a new Government will do?

I haven't seen any published figures but how financially viable is Worcestershire County Council, are they in a similar perilous state as Birmingham? I may be wrong but First Bus do not seem to have a particularly good working relationship with Worcestershire County Council judging by all the late evening and early morning tendered services which have disappeared in the last five years or so, nor do First seem to be that concerned to really market their services when garages start losing money; Evesham, Redditch, Kidderminster and Hereford immediately spring to mind as major losses this century.

The Worcester fleet has been 'modernised' with 9 year old cascaded Streetlites recently, but the depot hasn't had a new bus for 8 years - very much a backwater I fear. The test of a good bus service is if the majority of bus drivers and mechanics use the bus service to and from work - judging by the cars on the carpark and Padmore Street that is just not the case. Hope this money does something to halt the decline, or at least help to retain the present meagre service, but don't see much in the way of 'expansion' back to pre-Covid levels.

[AdamH]

...I haven't seen any published figures but how financially viable is Worcestershire County Council, are they in a similar perilous state as Birmingham? I may be wrong but First Bus do not seem to have a particularly good working relationship with Worcestershire County Council judging by all the late evening and early morning tendered services which have disappeared in the last five years or so, nor do First seem to be that concerned to really market their services when garages start losing money; Evesham, Redditch, Kidderminster and Hereford immediately spring to mind as major losses this century...

While my post above may have come across as a flippant remark, there is a serious point to it... WCC have been in talks with First about using some of this money to expand the evening service in and around the city. If it all goes ahead, the depot may have to stop open until midnight once again, rather than locking up at half eight as it does now. As far as I know, there is no scope in the budget for new route or vehicles, it is just to improve on the network that is already there.

[DD12]

Thanks Tim and Adam for those helpful replies.

I still see "too many negatives", so I hope that the current First management are a lot more positive thinking than me ( - despite the StreetLites ! )

[Reddibus]

I Would not get too excited as the suggested uses for the funding are as follows:

[building new roads and improving junctions
installing or expanding mass transit systems
improving roads by filling in potholes and better street lighting for personal safety
improving journey times for car and bus users by tackling congestion
increasing the number of EV chargepoints
refurbishing bus and rail stations
improving our streets so they are safer to walk children to school and increasing accessibility for all.

The funding does not kick in until 2025 and is over 7 years and we will have had at least one general election by then.
The City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS) for the equivalent Mayoral urban areas has come with lots of strings attached
We also have the national issue that general extra government funding which includes the £2 fare that has been going to bus operators since Covid will have ended by the time this money starts to be available. As has happened with CRSTS areas Government have had to give permission for this money to be diverted from improvements and put into maintaining the current bus network which is exactly what may happen with this money .

On a general point Worcestershire CC like virtually all councils are under financial pressure and subsidising general bus services like evening and Sunday buses is not a statutory requirement to do so it simply does not happen as they don't have the money to do it.