A London-style bus system could be coming to Wirral to help the "historic blight of bus deregulation".
Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram told the ECHO about his plans for the whole area when asked about bus provision in Wirral.
People had told the ECHO about how parts of Wirral become a "no man's land" after 6pm due to lack of buses.
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We asked the Liverpool City Region about their concerns after Arriva said they always review their services and Stagecoach admitted more bus provision in the Noctorum, Beechwood and Wallasey wouldn't be commercially viable.
Mayor Steve Rotheram said the LCR pays to support vital services but the funding is not there to subsidise all routes that have been cut over the years.
He said: "People across the Wirral, like those in communities across the city region rely on the bus to get about every day. I am working to deliver a London-style transport system that gives people the cheapest, quickest and most reliable services possible.
"The historic blight of bus deregulation has meant that private operators are able to keep the routes which are most profitable while cutting those that many depend on. We’ve been able to pay to support some of these vital services but we don’t have the funding to maintain them all."
He also said that he is looking ahead and wants a "London-style" system in place for Wirral and the LCR, which would see more public money spent on transport to help increase routes and times.
"Since I was elected, I’ve been working to use the powers under the Bus Services Act to take greater local control of our bus services. It’s a long and difficult process, but one that I think will drastically improve transport right across our region.
"As part of that, I will be campaigning for London-style support – where government spending is nearly £500 more per head of population - to help build the London-style system we deserve."
While this does not solve the immediate issues faced by people who say they are cut off because of a lack of routes, there is a process people and communities can pursue should they want to petition for LCR monies to be used on a bus service they need but isn't considered financially viable by private firms.
There are regular consultations over bus routes where people can make known to the LCR areas that need a route or the route extended.
These have been cancelled due to the pandemic, but the ECHO understands that there is due to be one later this year but a date has not yet been set.
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