Norfolk bus passenger numbers up by 16% after investment

Passenger numbers have increased after Norfolk County Council received £49.5m government grant for the service

The number of bus journeys being taken in Norfolk has increased by 16% so far this financial year.

The rise has followed a £49.5m government grant to encourage greater bus use.

Transport campaigners said this proved that people will use public transport if it has had proper investment.

But one of the county's bus operators said the cap on fares, introduced by the government, would need to stay in place for numbers to keep growing.

In 2022 Norfolk was one of 31 areas in England that received government money to improve bus services and facilities.

The £49.5m, which was one of the largest grants in the country, has been used to launch 12 new routes, increase services on 32 other journeys and build new integrated travel hubs.

New figures have shown that passenger numbers between April and December have increased by 16% on the same period in 2022, which is an increase of 2.6 million individual passenger journeys.

Norfolk County Council said that the number of passengers was now 7% higher than it was before the Covid pandemic.

Graham Plant is in charge of transport for Norfolk County Council

"It's made a huge difference to Norfolk, it's better than we ever thought it could be," said Graham Plant, the Conservative cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport at Norfolk County Council.

"We're putting on more services during the week and at weekends and it isn't just Norwich and towns that are getting the improvements, it's the villages as well."

Fare Cap

The growth in numbers has been helped by the government's £2 cap on fares, which was introduced to encourage passengers to return to the service after the Covid pandemic.

The county council has also reduced some fares to £1.50 in Kings Lynn, Thetford and, later this year, Great Yarmouth.

There has been a 75% increase in ticket sales in Kings Lynn since the new flat fare was introduced.

The county council hoped that after the £49.5m grant had been spent, there will be enough passengers to allow the operators to run a profitable service without subsidy.

David Sidebottom, the director of the campaign group Transport Focus, said: "It's good to see that Norfolk County Council's significant investment into local bus services and fares is helping more people get around by bus.

"Continued investment in local bus services and routes is key to keeping communities connected. Passengers tell us they want bus services that are reliable, frequent and offer value money.

Charles Sanders says subsidies and fare caps need to stay to encourage passengers

But Charles Sanders, the managing director of Sanders Coaches, believed that there would always have to be a fare cap to keep passengers using the service.

"It has to stay in place, even if it goes up slightly," he said.

"It has been extended by the government... it'll be interesting to see which party goes into the election promising to put bus fares up. I would like to think they'll all promise to retain it."

The X55 now runs a half-hourly service between North Walsham and Norwich

The view from X55

The X55 bus runs between North Walsham and Norwich. It used to be an hourly service but the operator, Sanders Coaches, has been helped by the grant to move to a half-hourly service.

The service has also introduced two extra morning buses to cope with the demand, and it has plans to eventually run a late-night service from Norwich

Georgie Harrod and son Joseph are becoming regular bus users

Georgie Harrod, 31, is a teacher who lives in North Walsham. She travelled to Norwich with 15-week-old Joseph.

"The fact that there are more frequent buses nowadays make things much easier. If I miss a bus, like I did today, I know there's another one in 30 minutes.

"If you want to see friends at the weekend, to be able to leave at 6pm on a Sunday night and catch the bus home makes a huge difference. The last one always used to be at 4.30pm."

Malcolm Banyer has seen more passengers using the route

Malcolm Banyer, 73, from Bacton, used the service to travel to Norwich to meet a friend for lunch.

"Using the bus is much less hassle than driving into Norwich, as it's difficult to park and costs a fortune," he said.

"Only people like me (with free bus passes) used to use this route, but now there's a good cross section of people. It shows the grant is working."

Rosie Rush says more villages are in need of better connections

Rosie Rush, 29, was travelling to her retail job in Norwich from her new home in North Walsham. She said it has been much easier to get a seat because of the extra morning services, but said more could be done.

"I had to move from Bacton to North Walsham because the bus stopped way too early in the afternoon and I couldn't get back from work. It doesn't run on weekends so I was paying out for taxis.

"It's brilliant that they are laying on more services to the towns, but they need to lay on more buses to the villages as well," she added.