Cross-city bus route network to make services quicker and easier for passengers

Four new cross-city bus routes, designed to make services more reliable and attractive, are set to be developed following the award of £70 million funding.

The routes will link communities across Birmingham city centre and pave the way for genuine cross-city services, saving passengers time changing buses.

New bus lanes, amendments to junctions, traffic signals, parking and bus stops will allow buses to bypass traffic jams and provide more reliable, regular and predictable journey times, with enhanced shelters and information ensuring an improved travelling experience for passengers.

Drone shot of bus route improvements at Heybarnes Circus island, in Small Heath.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), will make improvements on routes covering:

• Longbridge and Hamstead via A441 (Pershore Road) and B4124
• Longbridge and Castle Vale via the A38 (Bristol Rd & Tyburn Rd)
• West Bromwich and Chelmsley Wood via A41 Soho Road and B4128 (Bordesley Green & The Meadway)
• Bartley Green and Chelmsley Wood via B4124 (Harborne Road) and B4114 (Washwood Heath Road)

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, and chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) said: “These cross-city bus routes will better connect local people right across our region - cutting journey times for passengers, improving the public transport customer experience and demonstrating what the future of urban mobility can look like.

“Thanks to the £70 million funding award we recently secured, we can further enhance services here in the West Midlands - with a particular focus on reliability so that we can make daily commutes faster and more dependable.

“Whether residents are on the move for work or play, we’re making the bus a more attractive option for all in the months and years ahead.”

Cllr Mike Bird, portfolio holder for transport, said, “Bus is the most popular form of transport in the region, accounting for more than 260 million journeys a year, and we are looking to make it even more attractive and encourage people to leave their cars at home.

“The future prosperity of our region will rely to a great extent on efficient public transport. We need to ensure that our communities have seamless access to opportunities and a smoother daily commute. This investment in additional routes across Birmingham is a positive step in the right direction and I welcome it.”

Cllr Liz Clements, cabinet member for transport, said: “Buses are Birmingham’s mass transit network and they need priority on our roads, so I am delighted funding has been awarded for these four new cross-city bus routes. As a city we have been far too reliant on private cars for far too long and we need to fundamentally change the way we move people around Birmingham.

“We have set out in our transport plan how we want Birmingham to be a place to live and be, not drive and park, with people making better use of public transport, walking and cycling. In changing our priorities, we can achieve a change in attitude and behaviour to have a cleaner, greener and healthier city.”

Operators will be invited to run new cross-city services making it easier to access our expanding city centre and key locations beyond. This, coupled with other initiatives to introduce further zero-emission buses will make services more connected, reliable and attractive, contributing towards the region’s #WM2041 plan to become carbon-neutral within the next two decades.

This follows the ongoing development of bus priority upgrades on corridors between Druids Heath and Dudley and Walsall and Solihull both via Birmingham City Centre.

TfWM, which is part of the WMCA, is working with Birmingham city council and other council partners on the plans which are to be developed and delivered over the next three years.

The £70 million funding has been set aside the £1.05bn City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) awarded by the Department for Transport to the WMCA last year. The routes are also part of the region’s Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Detailed plans for the routes are in development in collaboration with council partners and will be subject to public engagement/consultation/planning process in due course.

Proposed Cross City bus routes: map courtesy of TfWM