James has welcomed the news that Norfolk has been successful in securing £49.55m of funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) to make the county's bus services and facilities better.
In October 2021 the County Council published Norfolk’s Bus Service Improvement Plan which outlines the ambitions for the next five years.
In April this year the DfT notified Norfolk County Council of an indicative allocation of funding for three years.
The County Council has since worked alongside bus operators to shape details of what the money would be spent on should we secure it. To help shape their plans in May they launched a consultation asking for residents’ views on bus services in Norfolk. More than 1500 people took part in the consultation which helped them to identify what the barriers are to using buses and which of the priorities within the plan are most important to them.
The final plan includes:
- lower fares for under 25 year olds
- bus priority schemes
- more real time information
- improved waiting areas and integrated travel hubs
- new and more frequent services
Cllr Martin Wilby, Cabinet Member for Highways, Infrastructure and Transport, said:
“I’m thrilled to hear that we have now secured this funding for Norfolk and look forward to seeing some of our plans being delivered to create an improved bus service for both residents and visitors of the county. Since being notified of the indicative allocation from the DfT our team has worked hard alongside bus operators to provide all the information and create the robust plan that was required to secure the funding.”
