Bus Service Improvement Plan

Yes please. None of the submissions received were unreasonable, we simply were unable to fund them all so grants went to those that scored best when evaluated. We gave feedback to all of the unsuccessful schemes so please consider the points mentioned in that feedback and update your submission accordingly. See also the other information on this page to help improve your bid quality.

Yes.  We are now able to consider schemes for general bus stop improvements across a parish or for route-specific upgrades linked to a service bid.  Please be aware when submitting a bid that all stop works will be limited by the amount of land available within the Highway boundary (i.e. under Suffolk County Council control) – for example some current bus stops simply do not have the space to add a bus shelter.  We are not able to purchase or adopt privately-owned sites in order to create more space.

We are happy to give guidance over the general process, but are not able to write bids for you.  Questions about the process should be sent via email to bus.strategy@suffolk.gov.uk in the first instance. We will also be able to cover the topic at meetings of the EP Passenger Group.  If you are not a regular at these sessions, please email the Bus Strategy address and we will send you the details of how to join the next session.

All submissions will be scored against a range of criteria (see below), so the first thing we will do is make sure the information provided allows for this and request further detail if required. Scoring of submissions will be carried out by a panel of officers from the Passenger Transport and Transport Strategy Teams at Suffolk County Council, with the decision on which ones to fund being made in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport Strategy, Planning and Waste.

There are currently no set deadlines for submitting bids so please take your time to gather suitable evidence and prepare your submission to give us enough information to evaluate them properly.  For revenue schemes (service improvements) we will set cut-off dates for bids once we know the extent of funding after April 2026.  Capital schemes (stop improvements etc) will be assessed by our new Capital Spend board which will meet regularly throughout the year.  Third para – just delete January 2025.

Details of all schemes submitted will be published on suffolkonboard.com and will be included in future BSIP updates as part of our commitment to seek funding to deliver improvements to services across Suffolk. As with the previous rounds, unsuccessful bidders will be given feedback on how their bids could be improved or other reasons for not awarding funding this time, and the portal will continue to be open for future submissions to add to our wish list.

All bids will be scored on the following criteria, which are intended to ensure fairness and parity between bids submitted by community groups, bus companies or other organisations:

1. Parishes affected by the bid. This will help us judge how many residents could benefit from a new or improved service as well as the willingness of neighbouring parishes to work together to develop and agree ideas. Each bid should include a lead contact but please also provide details of partners who should be included in any communications about the submission. Where we receive similar submissions from neighbouring/adjacent parishes that do not show evidence of working together we will endeavour to link bidders together to combine their efforts.
   
2. How does the idea meet the core BSIP ambitions? These include improving journey times and reliability, increasing passenger numbers and satisfaction, adding connectivity with other services and providing better passenger information. A full breakdown of these can be found within our original BSIP and the 2022 and 2024 updates at Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) – Suffolkonboard
   
3. Anticipated costs and passenger forecasts. At this stage we do not know if there will be any future funding from the DfT to continue operating routes once the current grant is used. We therefore need a good idea of how much your idea will cost to run and how many people will use it. This will help us pick improvements that have the potential to cover their operating costs from fares income once we have helped get them up and running with this grant.
   
4. How bidders propose schemes should be monitored. We will have to report what we have used the money for and how services are performing to the DfT, but what else could we measure beyond costs and number of passengers?
   
5. Whether the idea increases provision of links to key facilities such as healthcare providers, schools/colleges or major employers. Knowing why people might use an improved service will help us direct marketing efforts to encourage use of the route.
   
6. Whether the idea integrates with existing services or other modes of transport to extend journey opportunities. If so, have you spoken with the providers of such services to co-ordinate journeys or offer combined tickets?
   
7. What other partners can you bring in to strengthen your bid? If you are looking for more journeys to a tourist destination, employer or similar have you made contact with them and what can they offer towards any enhanced service provision? Could people be incentivised to use routes by offering discounts or other special offers at their destination if they arrive by bus? Or would employers be willing to offer discounted ticket prices to their staff if we can link journeys with shift patterns?
   
8. What bidders are able to add to a scheme or support it with. We want to ensure every pound put towards a new service or enhancement counts, and gives us the best value possible. So, if you can contribute towards operating costs, produce and distribute publicity materials, co-ordinate off-bus ticket sales or journey bookings or facilitate the operation in any way please tell us.

Please demonstrate that the County Councillors for all areas covered by a bid are aware of your submission.

Are there any infrastructure requirements associated with your idea? For the services already underway we have embarked on a programme to replace old bus stop flags and improve roadside timetables to help gain visibility for these routes, but is more needed? Although the DfT funding is primarily intended as revenue for funding the service provision, there is the option to use some of it for capital improvements to stops along the routes. We may also be able to tap into other funding sources for stop improvements along routes such as developer contributions, CIL grants or making use of parish funds.

If you have based your submission on the results of local consultation or existing parish plans, please share these with us alongside any other documentary evidence you think would help us make a decision over what ideas to fund.

No. The ideas allocated funding last time include demand responsive travel, shopping services run by minibuses, new “big bus” routes and enhancements to existing routes. The intention is to use the funding to deliver services that meet local transport needs – how that can be achieved will vary across parishes and according to those needs.

Under the terms set out by the Department for Transport when giving us the grant, services funded by this money must be part of the English National Concessionary Travel scheme (i.e. offer free travel to holders of appropriate bus passes within the scheme hours) and use specific “Funded by the UK Government” branding on publicity materials. We will assist successful schemes to meet these conditions. Otherwise any new or improved services simply have to operate under the current legislation applicable to passenger transport.

There are currently no set deadlines for submitting bids so please take your time to gather suitable evidence and prepare your submission to give us enough information to evaluate them properly.  For revenue schemes (service improvements) we will set cut-off dates for bids once we know the extent of funding after April 2026.  Capital schemes (stop improvements etc) will be assessed by our new Capital Spend board which will meet regularly throughout the year.