Initial details of the final plans for changes to Liverpool City Centre bus routes – scheduled to come into effect from January 2020 – have been agreed.
The revised plans – following work between Merseytravel, Liverpool City Council and bus operators – reflect some of the key themes and concerns raised by bus users, businesses and other organisations.
The proposals, published over the summer, with people invited to comment, were prepared in response to Liverpool City Council’s £45m City Centre Connectivity Scheme (LCCCS) which aims to make the city cleaner and more environmentally friendly, changing how traffic moves through the city, reducing congestion and improving air quality
While the revisions to the proposals are still at a high level with some of the detail yet to be worked through, by sharing these now it is hoped that they will address the key concerns of bus users,.
Key changes to proposals:-
- Some peak time bus services to travel beyond Queen Square and into the commercial district of Dale Street, James Street & Lord Street to support commuter journeys.
- The continuation of a number of bus routes along Hanover Street rather than Duke Street, subject to bus priority measures being introduced on Hanover Street in advance of the January changes. This will be subject to further detail being worked through with all partners.
More detailed customer information will be published in the coming weeks and in the lead up to the changes in January 2020.
The key principles of the original bus re-routing plans remain, with boarding and alighting points for the majority of services generally focussed in or around Queen Square and Liverpool ONE bus stations, with a frequent cross-city bus service running between both bus stations for those who need it.
As with the original proposals, the vast majority of bus users will be able to get on and off as they do now. The revisions mean that significantly fewer users will now be affected by city centre re-routing changes.