Buses at ‘record low’ on region’s roads

It comes as fewer buses were licensed across the UK at the end of last year than in any year since 2014.

The data is also revealed as the city region prepares to embark on the deregulation of bus services, which will put them back under local control.

The RAC said the fall in buses on the roads is "disappointing", while the Campaign for Better Transport urged the Government to work with local authorities and bus operators to expand and improve bus services.

Department for Transport figures show 3,316 buses and coaches were licenced in Merseyside at the end of 2023.

This was down from 3,431 the year before, and represented a fall of 19% since 2014, slumping to the lowest figure of any year over the last 10 years.

Some 141,300 buses and coaches were registered across the UK at the end of last year, a 16% decline from nine years prior.

Dependence on cars

Rod Dennis, spokesperson for the RAC, said the fall is "disappointing at a time when so much public money is being spent on trying to make bus travel more attractive".

He added: "It’s little wonder then that so many people are as dependent on their cars as they are."

Silviya Barrett, director of policy and campaigns at the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "Schemes such as the £2 bus fare cap have helped to boost bus passenger numbers, but they are no substitute for long-term funding, and these figures show we still have a way to go to halt the vicious cycle of bus cuts.

"The Government must do more to support all local authorities so they can work with bus operators to run quality services and expand provision for the millions of people who rely on buses every day."

The Bus Users campaign group said losing bus services leaves people "without vital access to education, healthcare, employment, friends and family".

Chief executive Claire Walter said: "Funding for bus services is an investment that boosts local economies, reduces congestion and pollution, and improves health and wellbeing.

"We need ongoing, ring-fenced funding to protect these lifeline services for the future."

Last year, Liverpool city region metro mayor Steve Rotheram hailed a "new era" for public transport in the region after he announced that he will be franchising the region’s buses.

The decision, which will mark the biggest shake-up to the region’s bus network in almost 40 years as it is brought back into public control for the first time in a generation, was taken by mayor Rotheram following the recommendation of local authority leaders at a Liverpool City Region Combined Authority meeting.

It means that the region will be only the second area outside of London to have a franchised system since the passing of the Transport Act in 1985, when Margaret Thatcher’s government deregulated all buses outside of the capital.