In May 2022 Leicester City Council, Arriva, Centrebus, First Bus, Kinchbus, Roberts Travel and Stagecoach formed the Leicester Buses Enhanced Partnership.

Our aim is to make bus travel electric, frequent, reliable, easy and great value

We legally committed to 100 goals over a 3-year period. 

By August 2023, we have already delivered 75 goals and are on track to deliver the rest by May 2024. 

Delivered so far

Greenlines electric network - 24 electric buses on six subsidised services operating from 2 new charging depots at Roberts and Centrebus, including three park and rides, inner and outer orbital and hospital service.

First Bus electric buses - fully converted depot to electric operation, with all 68 single decks being introduced between May to Sept 2023, and all 18 double deckers ordered for introduction in May 2023.  Funding through ZEBRA City Council application.

Arriva electric buses - 24 double decker buses ordered, to be in service by November 2023.

Optimised network - co-ordinated timetables and routes between bus companies, removing inefficient duplication and simplifying for customers. Formal legal partnerships on 9 shared bus corridors.

New city centre connection service - free, every 10 minutes connecting all areas to bus and rail stations.

Significant Bus Lanes - on Abbey Park Road (both ways), Braunstone Gate, Anstey Lane, Groby Road, Abbey Lane (part), Melton Rd, Fosse Road North and London Road (permanent red route), all camera enforced.

New bus City Centre Savoy Street bus link - improving central area journey times and reliability.

New St Margaret’s Bus & Coach Station - 24 bays, solar powered. Direct link to inner Ring Rd reducing journey times by upto 4 minutes.

Totems at 1200 stops - with real time information displays and text-to-speech audio facility.

New Bus Shelters at 500 stops - with lighting, seats and some with ‘living ’ roofs.

Unified ‘Leicester Buses’ network branding - at bus stations, guides, bus company vehicles, bus stops/shelters.

Integrated website  - with partnership plan updates, information and ticketing channels.

Contactless tap-on tap-off ticketing with single-operator and multi-operator capping - first of its kind in UK. Flexible, easy, best value travel, regardless of which bus company is used. Significantly expanded range of multi-operator tickets, all with reduced fares premium.

Discount ticketing – for eligible scholars, unemployed, elderly, those with disabilities and health workers.

Results so far

  • Patronage aim: 90% pre-covid levels by March 2025. Currently at 85% and rising. June 2023 Firstbus patronage up 23.4% on June 2022.

  • Network optimisation- reduced operating miles to 83% of pre-covid levels, giving a more commercially sustainable network but with no significant decline in frequency.

  • Punctuality improved from 84.5% to 85.7%. Transport Focus: punctuality satisfaction 65% (2019/20), 74% (Feb/Mar 2023).

  • Melton Road bus priority scheme: punctuality improved from 84% (pre-covid) to 89% buses now on time.

  • Groby Road bus priority scheme: 6% reduction in overall journey times, 30% reduction in peak variance. Punctuality improved from 79% to 81% since covid.

  • Abbey Park Road bus priority scheme: 3 minutes time saving in both AM and PM peaks

  • Braunstone Gate bus priority scheme: 3 minutes time saving in peak AM inbound, 4 minutes in peak PM inbound, 1 minute peak saving AM and PM outbound.

  • St Margarets Bus Station – Burleys Way bus priority. 4 minutes saving in peak, 3 minutes in off peak.

  • Savoy Street City Centre Bus Link. Outbound all day saving of 2 minutes per trip.

  • By December 2023, 116 electric buses will be in operation from four charging depots, saving over 5084 tonnes of CO2 pa. Half of all routes will be electric by May 2024.

  • Multi-operator annual journeys up by 150% since 2019/20 from 1.8million (£2.84m) to 4.5million (£5.6m).

  • Value for money satisfaction from 57% to 73% since 2019 - reduction in multi operator fares premium from over 25% to 10% (fares levels mean only marginal benefit from national £2 fare).

  • New Hop free electric city centre bus service - 100,000 trips in first 5 months, now at around 1000/day. 59% of users connect to commercial services.

  • The electric Hospital Hopper - average weekly usage increase by 25% from 11,100 trips pre-covid to 13,929 in March 2023.

  • Monthly visits www.leicesterbuses.co.uk : 3,800 Mar 2022 to 68,000 March 2023.

 

Coming up next year

Over the next year the following are well on track to be delivered:

  • Nearly 100 more electric buses on Firstbus, Arriva and Stagecoach routes

  • Completion of real time stop totems are all stops in the Flexi area – Greater Leicester.

  • Camera enforced bus lanes on Abbey Lane, subject to consultation

  • Signalised junction priority to late running buses