The council has been awarded £1.8 million per year for two years – a total of £3.6 million – from the Department for Transport’s Bus Service Improvement Fund Phase 2 (BSIP 2, renamed from BSIP+) to deliver improvements to public transport in Suffolk.
Suffolk’s Enhanced Partnership, which represents the county council and local bus operators, has agreed to allocate the first year’s funding in three ways.
First, following an open call for suggestions, £1.2 million will be allocated to support operator- and local community-led proposals for new or enhanced services across the county.
Submissions were reviewed against criteria including value for money, the number of passengers that could benefit, how they integrate with existing services, and their likely long-term financial sustainability after the BSIP 2 funding ends.
Schemes awarded funding include:
- Enhancements of the 84 and 753 services connecting Sudbury to Colchester and Bury St Edmunds
- Enhancements of the 521 service connecting Halesworth, Saxmundham and Aldeburgh
- A re-route of the 14/15 service from Haverhill to Bury St Edmunds to serve West Suffolk Hospital and to increase frequency
- Enhancements to the Buzzabout community transport service serving villages north of Lowestoft
- New services connecting villages between Stowmarket and Mendlesham and surrounding villages
- Development of a new demand-responsive transport service to connect Brett Valley villages with commercial services in Hadleigh and Lavenham
- New services from Bramford to Ipswich and Stowupland to Stowmarket
- Enhancements to the operation of the Beyton/Thurston/Elmswell/Woolpit taxibus
A full list of the successful schemes can be found here.
All schemes are expected to commence operations between April 2024 and September 2024.
Cllr Richard Smith MVO, Suffolk County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Skills, Transport Strategy and Waste, said:
“Our focus for allocating Suffolk’s BSIP 2 fund was to look at how we could increase long-term patronage and revenues to stabilise the existing bus network, whilst also considering new ideas for services. I am pleased that the successful new schemes will support residents not only in our urban centres but in communities spread across the county.
“We have chosen schemes that test different approaches to delivering public transport in our predominantly rural county, following parish council suggestions for new connections to help communities access services.
“These are schemes that have been deemed likely to be sustainable once the initial funding has ended, but, as with all public transport, these services will require passengers. I would encourage residents to make the best possible use of them to ensure they continue into the future.”
A further £450,000 has been allocated to commercial bus operators in order to support and stabilise the existing bus network and maintain essential social and economic transport links for local communities.
The final £150,000 will be used to develop bus priority schemes, creating opportunities for smoother and more convenient bus journeys and making bus travel a more attractive transport option.
It is proposed that funding for the successful schemes will continue into the second year using a similar proportion of that year’s allocation.
A decision on how to spend any remaining funding will be informed by further reviews of the existing commercial bus network in collaboration with the operators and continued feedback from partners and communities.
