On-bus WiFi is proving a hit, with it coming out top in a survey of what bus users like most about bus.



Almost one in four (23 per cent) of bus users surveyed* in Liverpool City Centre during Catch the Bus Week (4th-10th July) said being able to log online was the top benefit of getting the bus, with more than one in five (21 per cent) saying comfort, cost or convenience were the biggest pluses.

When asked what would encourage people to use the bus for leisure purposes, later running evening services and discounted group travel came out as firm favourites.

Discounted weekly and monthly tickets, frequent services and good connections to transport interchanges emerged as provisions that would encourage more people to catch the bus to work.

These survey results support the key priorities in the Liverpool City Region’s new bus strategy which aims to make the bus a mode of choice, looking at what can be done to get new people using it and to get people who use it, making more journeys. The idea is that the more paying people there are using the bus, the more investment there is to further improve services.

The strategy is being delivered through a formal Bus Alliance between Merseytravel, Arriva and Stagecoach. The formal agreement is yet to be signed, but much has been achieved already through the alliance ‘lite’ giving people in the Liverpool City Region more reasons to try the bus than most:-

· Bus users in the LCR are some of the most satisfied of any major city region in the UK with an overall satisfaction rating of 89 per cent according to Transport Focus**
· The LCR has one of the best young people’s ticketing offers outside London with all young people’s tickets now available up to and including 18, including MyTicket – a £2 any bus, any operator ticket that can be used all day, every day.
· Frequent services – on the busiest routes the majority of daytime services operate every ten minutes or less with some as frequent as every few minutes.
· Free Wi-Fi and USB charging points are being rolled out on all new buses.
· The ‘Quality Bus Network’ is working to make bus travel more convenient and quicker on key routes, with more regular buses during the day, better information and routes where drivers can accept tickets from the other bus companies operating on that route.
· Walrus – sales of tickets on the smartcard hit the million mark in February 2016, making it the most active smartcard scheme in any City Region outside London. Tickets can be used on any buses and be bought at more than 800 PayPoint outlets.
The first 12 months of the Alliance will see a number of initiatives including an initial £19m investment in greener buses with free Wi-Fi and USB charging points; the introduction of one point of contact for customer service; new customer service training for drivers; improved links to John Lennon Airport and the rail network; the development of a trial 24-hour bus route and the start of a strategic review to create a simpler, clearer bus network.

Claire Haigh, Chief Executive of Greener Journeys – a campaign dedicated to encouraging people to make more sustainable travel choices, joined Merseytravel, Arriva and Stagecoach, in Williamson Square on Tuesday 5th July along with two double decker buses in an event to mark Catch the Bus Week and with staff on hand to answer questions and give journey planning advice.

Claire Haigh said:

“Catch the Bus Week is now in its 4th year, and once again we are delighted to see the entire bus sector coming together to promote the benefits of the bus.

“So much of our daily lives depend on the bus – from getting to school, to work, to the shops and to visiting family and friends – and this week was the perfect time to show the whole of Merseyside the very best of what buses can offer.”