New contracts agreed to protect essential bus services

Passengers are being urged to check for changes to a small number of bus services set to be introduced from January 2025 across Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull and the Black Country.

Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) spends £18.7 million each year funding essential bus services that private operators are unable to provide on a commercial basis.  

As part of a regular review of expiring contracts there will be changes to 28 services after private bus companies submitted bids for the work.

The revisions will see a few changes from Monday, 5^th January 2025 and passengers are being urged to check if their routes are affected on the TfWM website.  In the small number of cases where services are reducing, alternative buses are available for passengers to continue to make their journeys.

Pete Bond, director of integrated transport services for TfWM, said: “We have, working with the bus operators, used the funding available to secure the maximum benefits for bus passengers – especially those living in areas where commercial services are not financially sustainable.

“There are changes to some services and where there is a reduction for the vast majority there are suitable alternatives. I urge people to check the TfWM website for full details ahead of January.

“Buses account for more than 232 million journeys a year in the West Midlands. They are relied upon by many residents and businesses so it is essential we keep these services on the road.

“The bus industry is facing severe cost challenges and is increasingly reliant on subsidy support – that is why at TfWM we are developing a bus reform plan to better secure the long-term sustainability of our bus network.”

The majority of passengers will see no or very small changes to their services such as a change of operator and/or bus route number.  In a small number of cases there are changes to routes and timetables with a particular focus in Dudley, Bilston, Wednesbury and Solihull.  Some areas will also see an increase in frequency to better meet local demand

Full details of the changes, with a breakdown for key areas is available on the TfWM website.

This review of contract services does not include the wider grants currently being paid to bus operators to shield the commercial bus network from rising costs and keep services running. That funding has been extended to the end of March 2025 to allow for further discussions with bus operators.

Alongside funding support for bus services, TfWM, which is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), the Government funded Bus Service Improvement Plan is investing in a series of initiatives. This includes ticket incentives for car users and putting extra transport safety officers on patrol, to encourage more people to use bus services. In addition to this further bus lanes and priority measures are being funded through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, to improve reliability of service.