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Bus services across Wirral will come under public control later this year as part of a major shake-up of transport across the Liverpool City Region.
As reported by Birkenhead News, the government has confirmed £86.3 million in funding until 2029 to deliver the changes.
Mayors and local leaders will take control of the services, having a say over routes, branding, and fair prices for the first time since the 1980s, when Merseyside buses became privately owned in the 1980s.
Franchising began over the weekend, with St Helens one of the first lucky locations included in the rollout. If you are wondering, the Wirral is expected to get the services later this year. The rest of the city region will transition to the new system in 2027.
The changes are significant to the Liverpool City Region, as the combined authority will have the power to plan bus networks and decide where services run, similar to the system already operating in London and Greater Manchester. Passengers can expect to see new yellow British-built buses appearing on routes.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said the move marks a new era for public transport in the region.
"For nearly 40 years, bus deregulation has failed communities like ours. Routes have been chopped and changed, fares have risen, and local leaders have been left without the power to shape a service that millions of people rely on every year," he said.
Mr Rotheram also said the system should run for the public and should be "run in the interests of the people who use it, connecting communities with jobs, education and opportunity – not simply dictated by what makes the most commercial sense."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government was backing Mayor Rotheram "with the funding and powers needed to make it happen".
Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood added that the move was part of the government's mission to reverse "decades of decline" in bus services.
Over 93 million bus passenger journeys were taken in the Liverpool City Region last year. The changes come alongside the national £2 bus fare cap, which takes effect in January, and the extension of concessionary passes to give disabled people free bus travel all day from April.
