Buses and trains filmed in and around Leicester City centre and Midland Railway Station. After the re-opening of St Margaret's bus station a couple of weeks prior services are settling back in there after being ousted to temporary bus stops around the City for several months.
With the news of Leicester's Big Bus Plan coming into force many of the older vehicles have their weeks numbered in fear of withdrawal or transfer elsewhere.
The Bus Plan is as follows below:
About the Plan - Electric, Frequent, Reliable, Easy, Great Value
We’ve produced a comprehensive, radical 8 year plan:
Leicester Enhanced Bus Partnership Plan: 2022 - 2030
This has been based on significant research and consultation. It sets out the main issues and agreed priorities to transform bus travel and help in the fair and sustainable growth of Leicester.
A package of nearly £300m investment and a comprehensive range of actions by all the partners will deliver the plan.
A network of twenty-five ‘Mainlines’ that feels like a tram
brand new electric buses - third by 2024, half by 2025 and all by 2030
significant bus priority
real-time displays at all boarding stops and inside each bus
colour branded - buses, stops, information
integrated digital ticketing with ‘best fare’ price cap.
new waiting facilities at all stops
frequent services: at least every 15 mins daytime, half hourly evening and Sunday.
A network of five ‘Greenlines’ express bus routes aimed at wider area commuting:
tram-like quality features: electric buses, real time information, digital ticketing, bus priority and new waiting facilities
three cross-city routes, each with park and ride sites at both ends
two orbital services - inner and outer
at least every 15 minutes daytime.
An accessibility package for key groups:
discounted fares for elderly, disabled, young and unemployed
better value fares to workplaces outside the City Centre
flexible on-demand ‘Flexi lines’ to hard-to-reach areas.
more accessible information
Subject to the necessary funding, this plan can deliver a totally transformed bus network for every resident, worker and visitor.
Thirty bus lines with 400 electric buses, for less than the cost of a single tram line. Electric, Frequent, Reliable, Easy, Great Value.
Funding the Plan
The overall Plan will cost up to £170m over the next three years and a further £130m after that.
Nearly£100m of these funds are now in place, from a range of successful bids to government, together with local investment from bus operators and the city council.
We are actively seeking further funds to complete this ambitious plan, with additional bids to government and the Council’s current consultation to introduce a workplace parking levy.
This website will be continually updated to give details on all newly funded projects.
The Targets
Our main targets are ambitious but realistic:
Increase passenger use 25% by 2025 and over 40% by 2030
Improve user satisfaction to 90% by 2025
Brand new electric buses on 50% of the network by 2025, 100% by 2030
Enhanced Bus Partnership Scheme: 2022-2025
Each stage of the plan will be delivered in formal legal partnership schemes between the City Council and all bus operators.
The first scheme will run from 1 April 2022 - 31 March 2025 and will commit each party to deliver a range of projects and changes costing nearly £100m. This has now been approved by all parties and includes:
Branded urban bus network with 25 integrated ‘Mainlines’
Branded wider-area network with 5 electric ‘Greenlines’, including a new free City Centre electric bus route
Over 135 new electric buses covering a third of the network
New enforced bus lanes on 12 of Mainlines & Greenlines
Network-wide digital ‘best fare’ ticketing
Discounted ticketing for targeted groups
A new bus station at St Margaret’s
Two new park and ride sites
Over 450 new bus shelters
Over 1000 new bus stop ‘totems’.
Over 650 real time displays at all main bus stops
Maps and joint timetables at over 1000 bus stops.
Network wide promotions
Setting council central area parking above the cost of a day bus ticket.
Consult on introducing a workplace parking levy to provide funding for bus improvements
A customer charter
Full details of the scheme can be found below:
Leicester Enhanced Bus Partnership Scheme: 2022 - 2025
To help us with this ongoing process a Partnership Forum will be established in early 2022 with representatives from interested organisations and individuals.
Further stages of the Partnership Scheme will be developed with this Forum in line with future successful funding bids and local available investment.