New bus services proposed for city

Eight new and extended bus routes have gone out to tender

New and extended bus services have been proposed as part of plans to revamp public transport in Stoke-on-Trent.

The city council has unveiled eight routes with operators encouraged to make bids for the contracts.

The authority’s leader Councillor Jane Ashworth said they wanted to work with bus companies to create more services that run more frequently.

“We ultimately want to increase the number of people using public transport and make it as easy as possible to travel around the city,” she said.

The proposed routes that have been advertised are:

• Service 6: City Centre - Longton

• Service 8: Ball Green - Norton – Smallthorne – City Centre

• Service 11: Longton – Bentilee – City Centre

• Service 23: Blurton - Stoke - City Centre or Newstead – Blurton – Stoke – City Centre

• Service 26: Bentilee – Berry Hill - City Centre or Park Hall – Bentilee – Berry Hill – City Centre

• Service 36: Meir – Longton – City Centre – Burslem – Tunstall – Kidsgrove

• Service 36A: Meir Park – Longton – City Centre – Burslem – Tunstall Kidsgrove

• Service 50: Longton – Pool Dole (Fenton) – City Centre or Lightwood – Longton – Pool Dole (Fenton) – City Centre

Companies have until midnight on 28 February to make a submission.

The proposal came almost a year after BBC analysis showed bus services in Stoke-on-Trent had been cut by half since 2013-14.

Across Britain, services had shrunk by an estimated 14% between 2016-17 and 2021-22, according to analysis of Department of Transport figures.