Liverpool city region took significant steps in improving its transport connectivity in 2021.
With the announcement of an historic £710m funding package from the government, plans to expand our connectivity have been able to move ahead.
While some of this money will be used to improving our train infrastructure through the delivery of a new Merseyrail fleet and plans for new stations, the funding will also have an impact on our roads.
READ MORE: Fears Liverpool's transport revolution will leave thousands behind
This will take the form of creating ‘green routes’.
Enhancing public transport’s efficiency on our roads, the green routes will in effect make it easier to build faster and more reliable transport links to parts of the city that are not covered by the Merseyrail network.
In Liverpool, 40% of people don’t have access to a private car.
Therefore more than 80% of public transport journeys are made via bus.
While there are significant steps being taken to improve our rail connectivity, there is a similar ambition from the Combined Authority to enhance bus connectivity and reliability across the region.
Next year, the City Region is hoping to take delivery of the first of its hydrogen powered double decker buses.
The hydrogen powered buses produce zero emissions and will operate on what will be the region’s first ‘green route’.
The green routes will be implemented through a combination of priority lanes, traffic signal upgrades, remodelled junctions and upgraded, accessible passenger facilities.
The overall ambition is to one day work towards a ‘trackless tram’ style system for buses on these routes.
Their implementation would seek to greatly prioritise bus travel and reduce journey times.
The first green route to be created will be the 10A - the busiest in the city region - which runs from St Helens to Liverpool city centre, passing through areas such as Knotty Ash and Stoneycroft.
The green routes will go some way to balancing out disparity in the Merseyrail network and offer new, reliable modes of public transport where feasible rail links cannot be implemented.
It is hoped the first hydrogen powered bus will be in operation on the 10A route by the end of 2022 with further infrastructural work to be carried out to fully establish the ‘green route’.
Once implemented, it is hoped further green routes can be extended to other previously hard to reach parts of the city region.
Responding to the announcement of transport funding and where this will be felt across the City Region, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “Too many communities across our region feel isolated because of a transport network that doesn’t work for them. It’s not right that it can take some people over an hour to get into the city centre. Deregulation has left most of the country with a second-class service run at the whims of private operators. I’m working to fix that.
“The £710m we’ve secured from the government in this week’s Budget will help to build some of the priority infrastructure needed to deliver on my vision for a London-style transport network that makes getting around quick, reliable and affordable. That includes Green Bus Routes, which in the first instance will serve communities like Knotty Ash along the 10 bus route, with more to follow in later phases.
“£710m sounds like a lot of money but our ambitions and needs far exceed what we have been awarded. It’s a good start as a down payment but it will take considerable time, effort and resource to fully correct decades of under-investment.
“We’re in the process of bidding for a share of a £1.2bn pot of money that will help to improve the reliability and affordability of our bus services. That builds on top of the work we are doing at the minute to take greater control of our bus network, building a service around the needs of local people.”
