Bus route withdrawals, reductions and changes to timetables and operators have been confirmed across Merseyside.
Merseytravel announced the raft of changes which came into place on Sunday, September 4. It will impact routes in Liverpool, Southport, St Helens and Wirral.
Back in August, Merseytravel said the changes are being made “to ensure that a sustainable network is in place which reflects changes in travel demands and patterns whilst continuing to maintain bus network coverage, encourage passenger growth, and promote buses as a preferred mode of travel.
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“While some services have seen a good rate of recovery in passenger numbers since the removal of Covid-19 restrictions, others have not. This means that they may require changes to their route or timetable to allow them to remain sustainable.”
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram also previously announced that journeys on Liverpool's buses will cost passengers a maximum of £2 by September 18. The new single adult fare will mean bus passengers will see a saving of up to 13% compared to the current cost of their journey.
The charge applies to single journeys and has been introduced in a bid to help residents save money during the cost of living crisis. Young people across the city will also benefit from the plans as the cost of a MyTicket, which allows those under the age of 19 to benefit from all day unlimited travel, will remain frozen at £2.20 until 2025.
A full list of changes includes:
Liverpool
Routes 3 and 3A Huyton Industrial Estate to Halewood or Liverpool John Lennon Airport - Services are now operated by Arriva.
Route 7 Liverpool to Warrington Bus Interchange - Minor timetable changes.
Routes 10, 10A and 10B Liverpool to St Helens or Huyton - 10A: Combined Monday to Friday and Sunday frequencies are increased. 10B: The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies. Sunday evening service reduces to hourly after 9pm.
Routes 12 and 13 Liverpool to Stockbridge Village circulars - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies. Sunday evening service reduces to hourly after 10pm.
Routes 14, 14A, 14B, 14C and 14X Liverpool to Croxteth, Towerhill, Knowsley Village or Kirkby - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies. Saturday combined daytime service is reduced. 14A service will finish at Kirkby Bus Station, no longer serving Towerhill.
Route 15 Liverpool to Huyton Bus Station - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies. Sunday evening service reduces to hourly after 10pm.
Route 17 Liverpool to Aintree University Hospital or Kirkby - Service extended to and around Knowsley Industrial Estate with an hourly frequency. Some early morning journeys will operate as a 17X service.
Route 18 Liverpool to Croxteth Park circular - No longer changing.
Route 19 Liverpool to Gillmoss, Croxteth, Kirkby or Kirkby Admin - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies. Additional early morning Monday to Friday journey from Gillmoss (at 0422) into Liverpool is added to replace early journey lost due to withdrawal of X3.
Routes 20 and 20X Liverpool to Towerhill or Kirkby Admin - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies.\u0009
Route 21 Liverpool to Northwood - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies.
Routes 26 and 27 Liverpool to Sheil Road circulars - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies. Sunday evening service reduces to hourly after 10pm.
Route 47 Liverpool to Crossens - Times are changed.
Routes 52 and 52A Liverpool to Netherton or Old Roan - The Saturday service is reduced to every 20 minutes from 5pm.
Route 53 Liverpool to Crosby. Saturday service to start at 6am - Sunday evening service reduces to hourly after 9pm.
Routes 54 and 54A Liverpool to Thornton - Times are changed.
Routes 55 and 55D Liverpool to Old Roan - Times are changed. Sunday service is reduced to hourly.
Routes 58 and 58A Liverpool to Netherton - Minor timetable changes. Merseytravel morning trip from Netherton will now be operated by Peoplesbus.
Route 60 Bootle to Aigburth Vale - Monday to Saturday evening service reduces to hourly after 10pm. Sunday evening service reduces to hourly after 9pm. Minor daytime timetable changes.
Route 61 Liverpool - Route 61A is re-instated. Times are changed to previous running. Route 61 Mondays to Fridays and Sundays times are changed throughout. Saturdays early morning journeys are changed but after 6.30am are unaltered.
Route 61 Liverpool to Halton Hospital- he Monday to Saturday frequency is reduced to hourly.
Route 63 Bootle to Aintree University Hospital - Minor timetable changes.
Routes 68, 68A and 68E Bootle to Aigburth Vale - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies.
Route 75 Liverpool to Halewood - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies. Minor timetable changes.
Route 76 Liverpool to Halewood - No longer changing.
Route 78 Liverpool to Halewood - No longer changing.
Routes 79 and 79C Liverpool to Halewood or Murdishaw - Route 79: Frequency reductions between Wood Lane and Halewood. Route 79C: Saturday service reduced to every 30 minutes.
Routes 80 and 80A Liverpool to Speke - The Saturday services are reduced to every 40 minutes
Routes 81 and 81A Bootle Bus Station to Speke or Liverpool John Lennon Airport - Route 81: Monday to Friday times are changed throughout. Saturday and Sunday journeys have minor retimings at some stops. Route 81A: Monday to Friday times are changed throughout. Saturday are unchanged apart from journeys towards John Lennon Airport are timed a minute earlier at Hunts Cross Station. Route 881: remains unchanged.
Route 82 Liverpool to Liverpool South Parkway or Speke - Arriva: Times are changed throughout. Stagecoach: The daytime frequency is increased on Monday to Friday and Saturday services to about every 10 minutes and times are changed. Sundays are unchanged.
Routes 86, 86A and 86C Liverpool to Garston, Liverpool South Parkway, John Lennon Airport or Childwall - The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies.
Routes 97/97A and 98/98A Kirkby circular - Route 98 is merged into route 97 to create new route 97. Route 98A is merged into route 97A to create new route 97A.
Route 99 Whiston to Prescot Circular - This service will operate an extended span of day with additional journeys in the AM and PM peaks. Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by MD Bus and Coach (Link Network).
Route 121 Aintree Rail Station to Broadway - Route 121 (Evening and Sunday services) are reduced to hourly.
Route 133 Kirkby to Waterloo - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by Hattons.
Route 135 Aintree Station to Bootle - The service frequency is reduced to every 60 minutes and the route is altered to no longer serve Millers Bridge. (Millers Bridge is served by 136 Monday to Friday peak times and the 144 evenings and Sundays).
Route 136 Liverpool to Bootle circular - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by Peoplesbus.
Route 144 Bootle to Litherland circular - The daytime service will now operate via Strand Road. Evenings and Sundays will operate via Millers Bridge. Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by Arriva.
Route 159 Walton Park to Aintree University Hospital - The Evening and Sunday routes are extended to Walton Park.
Routes 166 and 188 Belle Vale and Halewood circulars - Route 188 is re-instated and the service will now be operated by Arriva.
Route 167 Garston to Grassendale circular - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by Hattons.
Route 204 Liverpool ONE Bus Station to Belle Vale - The Monday to Saturday frequency is reduced to every 60 minutes. The bus operator will change to Arriva.
Routes 217, 217A and 227 Kirkby (or Bootle) to Huyton or Halewood - Routes 217 and 227 are combined to create a new route 217. Services will run as 217 daytime and 217 and 217A evenings and Sundays. The Monday to Friday daytime frequency will be every 20 minutes, Saturdays every 30 minutes and evenings and Sundays will be every 60 minutes.
Route 235 Bootle to Orrell Park circular - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by Peoplesbus.
Route 345 Liverpool to Waddicar - Minor timetable change.
Routes 432 and 433 Liverpool to New Brighton - Evening frequencies are reduced after 6.30pm.
Route 437 Liverpool to West Kirby - Evening frequency is reduced after 10pm.
Route 464 Liverpool to New Ferry - Minor timetable changes.
Routes 471 and 472 Liverpool to Heswall - The 20 minute daytime frequency returns to route 471 to create a more balanced combined timetable.
Route 835 Northwood to Liverpool Freeport - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by Peoplesbus.
Routes 898 and 899 Page Moss to Kirkby Admin circulars - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now mainly be operated by Arriva with HTL continuing to operate some early morning commercial 898 journeys.
Route X3 Liverpool to Knowsley Industrial Park - This service is withdrawn. See routes 17, 19 and 20 for alternatives and connecting services.
Southport
Route 47 Liverpool to Crossens - Times are changed.
Routes F1 to F6 Formby circulars - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by Arriva.
St Helens
Routes 10, 10A and 10B Liverpool to St Helens or Huyton - 10A: Combined Monday to Friday and Sunday frequencies are increased. 10B: The daytime service returns to pre-summer frequencies. Sunday evening service reduces to hourly after 9pm.
Routes 17 and 30 St Helens to Widnes - Merged with route 30. New combined route 17 will extend to Chain Lane and operate via Sutton Manor.
Route 30 Chain Lane to Sutton Manor- This service is now merged with Route 17 above.
Route 37 St Helens to Eccleston - Route altered and is now extended to Rainford with a 60 minute Monday to Saturday daytime frequency.
Route 38 St Helens to Rainford - Service is reduced to every 60 minutes but will combine with the 37 to give a 30 minute frequency for Kiln Lane and Rainford. The service to Rainford Junction however will be reduced to every 60 minutes.
Route 352 St Helens to Wigan - The Saturday service will reduce to a 30 minute frequency.
Wirral
Routes 1, 1A, 1B and 1C Moreton Circulars - The Monday to Saturday and Sunday evening services are all temporarily withdrawn.
Routes 16 and 17 Moreton to Eastham Rake- The routes are amended to serve the stops in Arrowe Park Hospital grounds.
Routes 38 West Kirby to New Ferry or Eastham - The Monday to Friday daytime frequency returns to every 30 minutes.
Routes 41 and 42 Mill Park to Woodchurch - The routes are extended from Woodchurch to Arrowe Park Hospital rather than completing the loop around the estate.
Route 73 West Kirby to Poulton Lancelyn - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by A2B Travel.
Routes 80, 81 and 82 West Kirby to Newton, Arrowe Park Hospital or Caldy - Route 81 is re-routed via Greenbank Road and times are changed. The 80, 81 and 82 will also now be operated by A2B Travel on behalf of Merseytravel.
Routes 91 and 91A Birkenhead to Holmlands Estate - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by A2B Travel.
Routes 106 and 107 Liscard to Wallasey circulars- Routes amended to include Mount Road.
Route 129 Liscard to Frankby Cemetery - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by A2B Travel.
Route 174 Heswall Circular - The service is reduced to a two hour frequency with the last bus now departing from Heswall at 1552.
Route 175 Heswall Circular -The service frequency is reduced to every 2 hours. Journeys now start at Heswall Bus Station and head out to Heswall Shore, rather than start/finish there. the route is otherwise unchanged. Times are changed.
Route 181 - The service is reduced to a two hour frequency.
Routes 216 and 217 Birkenhead to Arrowe Park Hospital circulars - The frequency is reduced from every 30 to every 60 minutes.
Route 409 Birkenhead to Wallasey Village - Minor timetable changes.
Route 410 New Brighton to Clatterbridge Hospital - The evening frequency is reduced after 10pm Monday to Friday and after 9pm on a weekend.
Route 411 New Brighton to Woodside - An extra round trip is introduced.
Route 418 New Ferry to Birkenhead - The frequency is reduced to every 60 minutes.
Routes 432 and 433 Liverpool to New Brighton - Evening frequencies are reduced after 6.30pm.
Route 437 Liverpool to West Kirby - Evening frequency reduced after 10pm.
Route 464 Liverpool to New Ferry - Minor timetable changes.
Routes 471 and 472 Liverpool to Heswall - The 20 minute daytime frequency returns to route 471 to create a more balanced combined timetable.
Routes 492 and 495 Birkenhead to Noctorum circulars - Minor retimings.
Route 811 Leasowe or Moreton to Broughton - Change of operator on behalf of Merseytravel. The service will now be operated by Selwyns.
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