Travelling around Surrey: Have your say on the 'Future Bus Network Review'
Overview
We want your help to ensure that our Future Bus Network is ready to meet new levels of passenger demand and is financially sustainable.
The bus industry is facing challenging operating conditions, resulting from changed travel patterns and passenger numbers not returning to pre-pandemic levels. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 27 million passenger trips were made each year on Surrey buses. The figure is now 18 million passenger trips. This coupled with the impact of rising fuel and maintenance costs, as well as increased competition for drivers, means that bus operators need to consider what services they operate as the money Surrey County Council spends on supporting bus services cannot buy the same as it used to.
We want your help to shape what that Future Bus Network will look like by giving us your views on our proposals for:
- Bus route and supporting infrastructure investment,
- Maintaining or changing bus services where relevant to increase patronage or better reflect existing patronage, and
- Expanding the number of Digital Demand Responsive Transport (DDRT) services for a more flexible transport offer to residents.
To help shape the Future Bus Network, we are running a public consultation from Thursday, 3 November 2022 to Friday, 6 January 2023.
How to have your say
- Complete the online survey. The survey is compatible with speech recognition software and screen readers.
- Complete the hard copy survey. This is available in libraries, local council offices and on buses in affected areas of Surrey.
- Request for a hard copy survey to be sent directly to you in either the standard, Easy Read or Large Print format:
Call: 0300 200 1003
SMS text: 07860 053 465 or 07527 182 861 (for the deaf or hard of hearing)
Textphone (via Text Relay): 18001 0300 200 1005
VRS: Sign Language Video Relay Service
Return hard copy surveys to:
Future Bus Network Review, Quadrant Court, 35 Guildford Road, Woking, GU22 7QQ
The final proposals that are drawn up following the consultation will be considered by Surrey County Council's executive decision-making body (Cabinet) in early 2023. Any agreed changes to bus services will be communicated to residents and stakeholders from June 2023, with the changes coming into effect from early September 2023. Please check www.surreycc.gov.uk/transportconsultations for consultation updates.
