Future of Wokingham bus use as council spends £2m on service

Bus services in the area was a big topic that came up at Wokingham Borough Council’s executive committee meeting on Thursday, October 28.

The amount of money the council spends on bus improvements was revealed in a document outlining the council’s bus strategy, called the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

The council spends £2.48 million in total on bus services per year, according to the document.

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Of that, £810,400 goes towards supporting bus services , £920,400 is spent on concessionary fares, £103,000 goes towards community transport and volunteer services.

Additionally, £166,200 is spent on Real Time Information (RTI), and the council spends  £380,000 of money it acquires from Section 106 agreements on supported bus services.  Section 106 agreements are contributions paid by developers to support local infrastructure.

During the meeting, the executive committee decided to publish the BSIP.

Councils are required to publish a BSIP by Sunday, October 31, as part of the National Bus Strategy.

The council needed to publish the document in order to be eligible for  £3 billion of the Government’s transitional fund for bus services, which typically gives councils more than £500,000 to improve services.

A bus going through Earley in Wokngham Borough. Credit: Mike Swift

The future of bus services in Wokingham was also the subject of question by Councillor Imogen Shepherd-DuBey (Liberal Democrats, Emmbrook) who asked:  “Looking at the Bus Service Improvement Plan – our new housing estates are filling

up with residents and we have bus shelters along the main roads, but as of yet, no bus services to these neighbourhoods.

“Understanding that this council has declared a Climate Emergency, we need good public transport to be an alternative to persuade people out of their cars and that cycling and walking does not work for everyone, especially in bad weather.

“To be useful, the bus service needs to run in the evenings and at weekends and they were supposed to be available when people started moving in.

“So, when are we likely to see a regular bus service in these new estates?”

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Replying, Cllr Pauline Jorgensen (Conservative, Hillside), the executive member for transport said: “The Bus Service Improvement Plan is a high-level strategy, it is not intended to provide detailed amendments and delivery dates for every bus service within the Borough.

“Development in the Shinfield and Spencers Wood area has already been provided with additional bus services to serve new homes in Croft Gardens and Thames Valley Science Park.

“In North Wokingham the 121 service was amended to re-route the bus through Mulberry Grove using S106 funding to cover the costs.

“Both bus services have developer funding until 2026 to try and establish commercially sustainable services, although the pandemic has had a significant impact on passenger levels and growth.

“Currently passenger recovery rates are at 65% of the pre-covid level, bus services need to recover before new services are added. Adding new services when passenger demand is low results in high operational costs and low on-board revenue.

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“Ultimately, where passenger demand is low there is a high-risk developer funding will be exhausted before the service can be established and then the bus service is at a higher risk of being withdrawn.

“Bus services for new developments will be addressed as part of the Enhanced Partnership agreement.

“The Enhanced Partnership agreement will provide greater detail on the frequency and days of operation of bus services along with commitments to delivery dates.

“The Enhanced Partnership agreement will be available on April 1, 2022.”