Liverpool CA to invest in Prescot Bus Station under Green Bus Routes programme

Credit: Liverpool City Region Combined Authority - Artist’s impression of the Shakespeare North Playhouse.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (CA) has announced that it is seeking to invest £1.9 million from its Transforming Cities Fund into the Prescot Bus Station to improve bus services and the passenger experience, but to also support the nationally significant Shakespeare North Playhouse development. If approved, this investment will also kick start the CA’s £32 million Green Bus Routes programme.

The proposed measures, which would be delivered in partnership with Knowsley Borough Council, include public realm enhancements – such as decorative street lighting and trees – as well as improving bus stops by adding tactile paving, dropped kerbs and ‘Visrail’ guardrails.

Furthermore, the Green Bus Routes programme will be designed to transform bus journeys, including by improving punctuality and accessibility, whilst also improving air quality by reducing carbon emissions and boosting the local economy.

Ultimately, travelling on a ‘green bus route’ will mean that passengers can enjoy faster and more reliable journeys, which will be achieved via a series of measures, including traffic signal upgrades, remodelled junctions, priority lanes and bus stop build outs, which will be initially introduced in phases on the region’s busiest bus routes.

The A57 St Helens to Liverpool corridor, 10A route, will be the first major route to benefit from this investment and is also soon to be served by the region’s first zero-emission hydrogen buses. It will also pave the way for further expansion of ‘green routes’ across the bus network, resulting in a more connected region, bringing people and communities together.

With 82 per cent of public transport journeys in the region taken by bus, investing in improved services is a vital part of Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram’s pledge to deliver an integrated London-style transport system for the Liverpool City Region that makes public transport cheaper, quicker and more reliable.

“Over the last few years, Prescot has undergone something of a renaissance. The high street is bustling again, local people are spoiled for choice with some fantastic bars and restaurants and the eagerly awaited Shakespeare North Playhouse will open later [in 2022],” said Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region.

Councillor Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development at Knowsley Council, said: “This investment is really positive news for Prescot. The bus station is more than 20 years old and the improvements will reflect the bus station’s higher profile as the entrance route to the new Shakespeare North Playhouse, along with the other works at other key Prescot bus stops. This support from the Combined Authority will help to bring the bus station up to date, which will benefit the local residents who regularly use the station and also the many new visitors we are expecting to welcome to Prescot when the Playhouse opens [in Summer 2022].”