We ask Birmingham: How can bus services improve in the city?

New figures show that the number of bus journeys undertaken in Birmingham has fallen by 40% over the last decade.

The Government introduced a £2 cap on all bus journeys outside London last year to encourage more people to travel by bus. Initially intended to end in March, the scheme has been extended by three months from April to June 30. In addition, a further £80 million in funding has been provided to protect vital bus services during the same time period.

The Campaign for Better Transport said the added investment was “welcome”, but urged the Government to implement long-term funding reform to encourage more people to take the bus.

I’m here on the streets of Birmingham to find out how they think buses can improve in the region.

Cathleen said: “So I’m a bus user myself. I personally am very happy with the bus service I use because I use the 50, which I believe is one of the most frequent bus services in Europe. I do believe that there are some routes that are lengthier than they need to be. So I think it’s harder to get from certain parts of the city to other parts directly, I think that might put people off.”

Femi said: “The great error we’ve made is to reduce the frequency of buses. So if you take bus 50 it used to come every four to five minutes. And you’re lucky if you get it every 10 to 15 minutes now. So the reliability of it and the fact that it’s not as frequent as it was, is affecting the use of it, but I continue to use it.”

Bus journeys are down by almost 75 million journeys since pre-pandemic levels. The government is providing £155 million in funding to help passengers save money on fares as it stands. Encouraging the use of public transport is a part of the establishment’s strategy to reach net zero carbon. What can the government do to get people to ditch their cars and take mass transit instead?

Jennifer said: “I think it’s about consultation, you have to talk to people to find out what the barriers are for them. And so I wouldn’t want to assume I know them for everybody. For some people, it might be cost, for some people it might be reliability of the service. For some it might be the fact that they’ve got a large family, let’s say and so actually the bus can be quite expensive. So it’s finding out what works for different people. I think making it family friendly, certainly making them feel safe and making them reliable. I think those are crucial things to look at.”