Council to publish plan to improve bus connectivity and grow passenger numbers in the city

Hull City Council’s Cabinet has approved proposals to publish its Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) for 2024/2025 and to submit the document to the Department for Transport (DfT) to outline how it will spend funding to improve and enhance bus services within the city.

The BSIP sets out how the council, working alongside local bus operators, Stagecoach and East Yorkshire Buses, through the Hull Bus Alliance, will improve bus frequency, pilot new routes and services and introduce fare discounts that will help grow bus passenger numbers, address traffic congestion and improve air quality in the city.

The decision by Cabinet means that circa £3million of funding, successfully secured from the Government last year, will be used between now and March 2025 to deliver a number of initiatives, including -

• increased bus frequency on key corridors in the city, including along Anlaby Road, Holderness Road, Beverley Road and Spring Bank West, from 1 September 2024, on services 1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 56, 57, 63, 66, 104, 105, to every 10 minutes.
• further extending the late Saturday night bus scheme to support the nighttime economy.
• piloting a dedicated circular service for the east of the city, covering the Southcoates and Marfleet wards, to provide direct transport links to local shops, medical appointments and community groups.
• providing better accessibility for patients visiting Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hull Hospitals from the east of the city by piloting the creation of a new demand responsive transport service - Media Bus East Hull – to run alongside the west Hull demand responsive transport service, which is currently being trialled in partnership with East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
• reducing the fares for late Saturday night buses and the park & ride to just £1 per journey.
• reducing fares for under 19s as well as families and groups of up to six people attending events in the city during the summer.
• refurbishing the welcome pod at Hull Paragon Interchange to allow staff from the council’s transport service and from the local bus operators to provide bus timetable and route information alongside colleagues from Visit Hull and East Yorkshire (VHEY) who will continue to provide advice and support as well as promote and sell products for events and attractions.

Councillor Mark Ieronimo, cabinet portfolio holder for transportation, roads and highways at Hull City Council, stated -

“As a council, we are constantly striving to deliver the type of bus services that our residents, and visitors to the city, need and expect.

“The BSIP, in addition to improving and enhancing bus services within Hull, will help us to deliver on several objectives within our community plan, including safe and inclusive neighbourhoods, a healthier and fairer Hull and by supporting the city’s response to the climate emergency – all of which have been identified as important priorities through listening to feedback from our residents and our communities.

“Working with the local bus operators, through the Hull Bus Alliance, we will begin rolling out these exciting projects and initiatives over the coming months, providing our residents with even more transport options and enabling them to make more sustainable travel choices.”

Ben Gilligan, managing director of East Yorkshire Buses, said -

 “We are pleased to be continuing to work with Hull City Council to improve the bus offer within the city.

“Since we established the late-night buses on Saturdays and increased frequency on service 56, 57 and 66, we have seen a good response from customers who are now using the bus more often and can benefit from the greater options to travel that this has presented.

“Buses are an important part of the transport provision in the city and every person who makes a choice to use sustainable transport is doing their bit to reduce congestion in the city.”

Matt Cranwell, managing director at Stagecoach East Midlands, added -

“Hull has a comprehensive network of bus services with frequent, direct routes linking the main residential areas to the city's key destinations. We're committed to working in partnership with Hull City Council and East Yorkshire Buses to improve and enhance public transport for local people. 

“With regular services at low fares from early in the morning until late at night, using the bus is the most convenient and sensible travel choice to get around the city.”

For more information about getting around Hull by bus.