We are gearing up to deliver a £4.5 million investment in Plymouth’s bus network from April, in partnership with local operators.
A programme of improvements for the coming year, developed in line with the city’s Bus Service Improvement Plan and funded by the Department for Transport’s 2025/26 Bus Grant, was approved today.
The improvements will help achieve the Plymouth Enhanced Bus Partnership’s vision to ‘create a thriving bus network where everyone can be connected to important people and places, by services that are frequent, reliable, fast, affordable, safe and clean, which will also help Plymouth to achieve its net zero goals by 2030.’
They include:
- extra investment in subsidised services, with more frequent services, more days of operation and new services providing connections between communities
- a new real time passenger information system, replacing our ageing digital bus shelter displays
- improved passenger information, including new facilities for passengers with visual impairments
- the recently announced new Service 19 bus to and from The Park crematorium, along with new bus stops and a pedestrian crossing
- improvements at the park and ride sites, such as height barriers at the George Junction park and ride
- support for the Royal Parade improvements scheme
- continued staffing of the George Junction park and ride travel centre
- continued personalised travel planning, providing residents with one-to-one advice on Plymouth’s bus services
- a review of the multi-operator ‘Skipper’ ticket to make it better
The programme supports seven of the nine identified passenger priorities within the Bus Service Improvement Plan.
Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure said: “This is the first time the Council has received both capital and revenue funding for our Bus Service Improvement Plan. It’s therefore a great opportunity to provide the bus services people need and the infrastructure to support them, in terms of better passenger information system and new bus stops.”
The programme to be delivered using the Bus Grant funding was approved today and can be viewed on our decisions page.