Cheshire East Council wants the views of users on how to spend £2.4 million on bus services in the borough.
Meanwhile, bus users will enjoy an extension to the £2 single bus ticket scheme now being offered until October 31, with a fare cap of £2.50 from 1 November for another year.
Cheshire East has a budget of £2.4m to spend on bus routes that are not seen as commercially viable by bus operators but are still important to run.
The financial support for bus services uses criteria from 2011 which support the economy and environmental sustainability, improve access and social inclusion, and bus service performance.
Councillors say they need to update the criteria to reflect the local transport plan (LTP), local communities and the challenges facing the bus industry following the pandemic.
The council is now asking the public for their view on three new criteria:
● Contribution to carbon reduction
● Areas of deprivation covered by bus route
● Passenger numbers since Covid pandemic
Cllr Craig Browne, chair of Cheshire East Council’s highways and transport committee, said: “It is more than 11 years since the current bus support criteria were adopted.
“In that time, the travel needs of local communities have changed, the bus industry has changed significantly, and new transport strategies have been published, both nationally and locally.
“There is a need to reflect these changes in the council’s bus support criteria so that the framework for decision making is appropriate and supports the council’s strategic priorities for economic growth, environmental sustainability, social inclusion and health and wellbeing.
“Given ongoing cost and funding pressures, there is uncertainty affecting both supported and commercial bus services in Cheshire East – especially as current levels of patronage are only around 80-85 per cent of pre-Covid levels, with concessionary passenger levels at about 65-70%.”
Decisions will focus on fixed route, scheduled services which supplement the network that can be provided commercially.
Cllr Browne added: “I would urge everyone to take part in this public consultation.
“It is important to stress that this consultation is not a review of the current buses operating in Cheshire East.
“Rather, this consultation is about the criteria we use to decide which services in the borough we give financial support to, and which we do not.”
The public consultation runs until 6 August. You can complete the consultation online at: https://surveys.cheshireeast.gov.uk/s/BusSupportCriteria23/
Meanwhile, more than 140 operators covering more than 5,000 routes have confirmed they will continue to take part in the £2 fare cap scheme now extended until October 31.
Final details will be published on GOV.UK.
Passengers can also find the updated routes when planning their journey on Traveline.
It will cost the Government £200 million to extend the fare cap, and comes on top of £300 million to protect routes and improve services into 2025.
How about a bus service from Nantwich to Leighton hospital with planed stops.