Cheaper and simpler tickets to help get people back on buses are among a wide-ranging series of plans being considered by Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Previously we reported on the local authority's 'Bus Service Improvement Plan' (BSIP) which highlighted the declining number of bus passengers as a result of the pandemic.

High fares, confusing timetables and infrequent buses were among the factors blamed, with a fragmented network of multiple bus operators.

Now the council is developing a new Local Transport Plan, where it aims to improve the local bus industry which it says "continues to struggle", with passenger numbers at about 80 per cent of those seen around 2019/20, before the pandemic.

A report, for Cabinet members to consider at their next council meeting on September 11, warns that several services are "now considered marginal in terms of viability and therefore threatened with deregistration". Operators have also faced difficulties retaining drivers, with several leaving the industry in favour of road haulage to plug the HGV driver shortage.

As part of that, it is creating a revised BSIP which has set out mission objectives over the next decade – which include short-term fares support initiatives and longer-term "ambitious and radical schemes", such as creating a new Park and Ride site in Hoole and an A55 express bus service.

Among the fare incentives considered are an extension of the Government's current £2 low fare scheme beyond December 2024, the trial of a 12-month, borough-wide £1 fare cap for jobseekers, armed service veterans and university students/apprentices. The £1 fare cap for 16- to 18-year-olds would also be extended beyond its initial trial.

The revised BSIP is also looking to draw upon the success of initiatives such as the Blacon Pointer, which the council reports is "seen as the first choice for travel for many residents in the area".

The Blacon Pointer service, using recently renamed 14/14A/15/15A buses, has been a 'Voluntary Quality Bus Partnership' between Arriva and First (now Stagecoach), and sees co-ordinated timetables between the two operators.

The BSIP reported: "The creation of a VQBP to establish a multi-operator ticketing scheme demonstrates the ability and willingness to collaborate in this way under appropriate conditions.

"There is the potential for the Blacon Pointer partnership between Arriva and Stagecoach to act as a blueprint for other similar arrangements."

CWaC wants to see, ultimately, a much more integrated transport network across the borough where passengers can buy one ticket which could be used on rail, bus and Park and Ride. A borough-wide feasibility study is to take place over 2025/26 for a wider multi-operator ticketing system, with better timetable information made available on apps and at bus stops.

Highlighting that it would take a weekday bus passenger 160 minutes to travel between Ellesmere Port and Winsford – as opposed to 35 minutes if driving by car – the local authority's ambition is for a more joined-up timetable among bus operators so people don't wait so long at bus stop connections.

In the BSIP's 'aspirational schemes by 2035', enhancements and new services are considered, such as new services between Winsford/Middlewich and Chester, better weekend/evening services in and around Chester, and enhancing rural links.

Also noted in the BSIP were Chester's 2km of bus lanes, which were implemented in Wrexham Road, Hough Green, Sealand Road, Upper Northgate Street, Love Street, Frodsham Street and St Oswald's Way to Oulton Place Sliproad.

It once again refers to the dormant bus lanes which were temporarily activated on Boughton and Liverpool Road in late 2020, but were suspended following a fierce backlash from residents.

The BSIP noted: "Two further facilities on Boughton Road and on Liverpool Road were suspended during the pandemic and have not yet been brought back into use as an ongoing review looks into the future balance of their use, highway needs and active travel needs."

Elsewhere, a Chester to Cheshire Oaks corridor, which would create a priority route between Chester station, Chester Zoo and Cheshire Oaks, is under consideration in the medium term (2026-2029).

Accessibility improvements such as raised kerbs at bus stops and audible stop announcements are also in the pipeline for the next few years.

Looking to the longer term, a feasibility study is planned to see if a new Park and Ride side, located near the M53/A55 junction, could be built, with Park and Ride buses heading along Hoole Road.

While suggested by a member of the public that the Sealand Road Park and Ride should reopen, the BSIP strategy only acknowledges the site remains "out of use", having last been used as a Covid testing site in 2021.

The Cabinet is recommended to approve the working Local Transport Plan when it meets next week.