Passengers across Worcestershire will be able to continue their journeys around the county after Worcestershire County Council reached an agreement with local bus operators. Over the past few months, the County Council has been working closely with operators to secure the future of services for the benefit of residents, and to ensure services are sustainable.
An agreement has now been reached with bus operators to ensure all current services continue until at least the end of March 2023. However the Council is already focusing on post-March and its aspiration to maintain services. Worcestershire County Council Leader Simon Geraghty said: “As we continue on our road to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the effect it has had on our county as a whole, and the use of public transport in particular, I am really pleased that agreement has been reached on sustaining our enhanced contribution towards bus services for the academic year. It’s really important we support the availability of services for the people of Worcestershire.”
Councillor Mike Rouse, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, added: “We’ve worked closely with bus operators in the past few months to come up with a solution that benefits the residents of Worcestershire.
“I’m delighted to hear that an agreement has now been reached. Of course work continues to continuously review, enhance and secure the future of bus services as part of our commitment to improving all forms of transport so we encourage positive, modal choices.”
Worcestershire aspires to deliver better local bus routes within the county. The County Council supports local bus services to ensure towns and villages remain connected and will continue in partnership with operators to explore more innovative opportunities to run these more efficiently and effectively for passengers, and to understand fully the challenges the network faces.
Commenting on the news that at-risk services had been saved, Bob Baker, Managing Director for Diamond Bus, said: “We are hugely grateful for the additional funding that the Council has been able to offer as an emergency measure. We are committed to providing Worcestershire with the robust bus network it needs to support a growing community, but services need to become viable commercially in the long term and to do this we need a significant growth in passengers travelling by bus.”
