Improved Bus Services to Commence This Month

Published on: 2 Jul, 2021
Updated on: 3 Jul, 2021

Bus services in Guildford and other parts of Surrey will see significant improvements from this month, following over £5m investment to enhance bus travel for residents, Surrey County Council has announced.

In Guildford works now underway to be completed by Spring 2022, include:

Redesigning roads at locations where buses currently get held up to reduce bottlenecks and make bus journeys faster and more punctual

Trialling upgraded traffic signals to detect late-running buses and change signal timings in their favour

Improved bus stops, including better waiting areas, new shelters, more live bus departure screens and accessibility improvements to make buses easier to use for everyone.

Cllr Matt Furniss

Matt Furniss (Con, Shalford), SCC Cabinet member for Transport and Infrastructure explained that the improvements, part of the Guildford Quality Bus Corridor Project, and that the investment comes from a combination of EM3 LEP [Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership] funding and matching contributions from our bus operator partners (made pre-Covid) to invest in the now delivered new fleet.

He said: “This scheme also supports the significant sums we invest each year in funding local bus services in Guildford, helping residents access work, education, leisure and retail, medical appointments and other essential services.

“We know that buses are highly valuable to many of our residents and we hope that the significant investment we are putting into both increasing and improving services, will help even more people choose buses to get around the county.

“These improvements will help residents who have traditionally had to be heavily car-dependent due to their location and also residents who live in very busy, urban locations like Guildford where improvements will lead to more efficient services. With more reliable, regular and punctual bus services, we hope to see more people using the bus network, especially when car journeys aren’t essential.

“We are also committed to reducing the environmental impact of transport emissions by continuing to increase the number of electric buses across the county.

Nearly all bus services in Surrey are now running at their normal levels. Face coverings (unless exempt) are still required when travelling on buses and operators are continuing to undertake extra cleaning measures.

More information about bus services is available at www.surreycc.gov.uk