Rutland County Council is developing a Bus Services Improvement Plan in collaboration with the county's bus operators, and is asking for input from people across the county too.

A bus service improvement survey was launched on Monday to gather information and invite views from residents of all ages, from those who already use buses and from those who currently don't.

The Council also wants to hear from public, private and voluntary organisations who have an interest in making local bus services work well for more passengers.

This is in line with the Government's recently published National Bus Strategy called 'Bus Back Better', which encourages all English local transport authorities to work with operators to come up with achievable plans for improving their local services and encouraging more people to use them.

The Government has pledged £3 billion in funding to allocate nationally to deliver bus service improvement plans and Rutland County Council intends to bid for available funding.

To this end, the Council is working with all local bus operators in an Enhanced Partnership, putting together a plan to improve public transport and to increase both usage and service satisfaction.

Coun Lucy Stephenson, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: "We would like to secure a fair share of this funding to make bus travel better across our county.

"As an important part of developing our Bus Service Improvement Plan, and enabling our bid for funding, we want to hear what you think would improve local bus services and what would make you use buses more.

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"Our survey asks for information about bus use now compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as views on service reliability, frequency and availability; conditions of buses, accessibility and onboard facilities; bus stops and waiting environments; availability of information and customer service.

"All responses will help us in drafting the first Bus Service Improvement Plan for the county, so we want to hear from everyone who has an interest in improved bus services throughout Rutland. That includes understanding barriers of why people don't use buses and what would be on a 'wish list' that would encourage them to travel more by bus in the future."

An initial survey will be open from Monday August 23 to Sunday September 26. This may be followed later by more detailed surveys on particular areas of public transport locally and the Council will also be drawing on the findings from 'Getting around' feedback given in the Future Rutland Conversation, which started in April 2021.

The survey is available online at future.rutland.gov.uk/bus-service-improvement-plan Anyone without internet access who would like to take part can email [email protected] or call 01572 722577 to request a paper copy.

More information on the Government's long-term strategy for bus services and passengers in England (outside London) is available on the link here.