BCP Council and Morebus praised by Department for Transport for ‘award-winning’ partnership
We can reveal that passenger satisfaction for those who use buses in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole has risen to 85%
A partnership between BCP Council and Morebus has been recognised by the Government as one of the country's leading examples of how councils and bus operators can work together to improve public transport.
The Department for Transport (DfT) commended the two organisations for a series of initiatives designed to encourage more people to travel by bus while improving passenger safety, accessibility and affordability across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Among those was the “It's Free to Go by Bus” campaign, launched in August 2023 to help older and disabled residents make greater use of their concessionary bus passes after journeys fell by 36% during the Covid pandemic.
The DfT said the campaign promoted the financial, social and environmental benefits of free bus travel while providing a dedicated helpline for passengers.
The Government also hailed the “Commuter Club” scheme, introduced to get more people to travel to work by bus, and thereby reduce congestion in Bournemouth – which is one of the UK's busiest urban areas for traffic.
Other measures included deploying transport safety officers to reassure passengers and introducing a dedicated text messaging service to report incidents on buses.
All of this comes after the improvement of bus services was identified as a “key priority” by residents during a consultation on area’s Local Transport Plan.
According to the council, those improvements have contributed to passenger satisfaction rising to 85%, with the BCP area now ranked third nationally for overall passenger satisfaction.
Richard Wade, General Manager at Morebus, said local passengers had benefited directly from the close partnership.
“Whether through cheaper fares, enhanced safety, better information, improved accessibility or more reliable services, collaboration is key to achieving the best outcomes,” he said.
The recognition places BCP's approach alongside other examples of best practice being promoted nationally, as ministers encourage councils and operators to work more closely to improve local bus services.