Most bus routes that serve the city stop on Royal Parade, making it the city’s busiest bus interchange and a key strategic transport location. There are over 100 buses every hour and over 9 million passenger journeys from or to Royal Parade every year – either arriving to work in the city centre, to shop, stay or visit, or to head onto to destinations across the city e.g. the hospital, Plymstock or the Dockyard.
It is essential that bus services are improved to make it easier for everyone to get to work, school, shops and businesses, friends or family. We know that the bus is particularly important for the nearly 25% of households in Plymouth who do not have a car. With the city’s population due to grow in the coming years, improving sustainable travel choices is vital to keeping the city moving.
The improvements to Royal Parade will be creating a saw tooth layout for buses, increasing the number of bus stops from 12 – 15, repaving the length of Royal Parade with granite paving, carrying out repairs to the road and converting the pedestrian crossing to a Toucan crossing for pedestrians and cyclists.
The improvements that we want to make on Royal Parade are not just to make the town centre a more attractive place to be, but they also aim to improve bus infrastructure and services and future proof Royal Parade. With major regeneration completed in Old Town Street / New George Street and happening across the wider city centre e.g. Armada Way, Millbay and the West End, it is expected there will be new businesses and more residential properties in the years ahead. This means we need the right infrastructure in place to ensure an increased number of people can move around the city.
The scheme cost has increased. Our original budget was £5million but this was not based on the final costs as we were still assessing these. Costs have increased due to a longer working programme and more costs being confirmed. The total scheme cost is now £7.26m.
We’ve secured funding from the Department of Transport’s Bus Grant which means there is no additional funding required from us.
Bus company comments
“I am proud to emphasise the pivotal role Royal Parade plays in our city’s bus network. With around 7.5 million passengers boarding and alighting annually, its significance in our operations cannot be overstated. The forthcoming improvements are set to greatly benefit all passengers, particularly those with mobility challenges and wheelchair users. The redesigned layout will enhance pedestrian access and significantly improve road safety through the introduction of drive-on, drive-off bus bays. These advancements will serve the people of Plymouth for generations to come."
Richard Stevens Managing Director of Plymouth Citybus Ltd
"We welcome this investment in Royal Parade to provide a modern, inclusive and safe environment in what is the main bus interchange and focal point in the City Centre. This will literally benefit hundreds of thousands of bus passengers every year, together with all users of the City Centre. We know the short-term inconvenience will be worthwhile in the long term."
Peter Knight, Managing Director of Stagecoach