RESIDENTS have a chance to comment on changes to the borough's bus network.

St Helens is the latest area to have its bus network reviewed as part of changes to the whole Liverpool City Region Network.

The proposed changes include:

  • the 603 service being replaced with an extended 22 service which will now operate to a more direct route to Ashton via Earlestown, Haydock Industrial Estate and Garswood, reinstating the link to Newton Community Hospital. It will also provide through links to Warrington.
  • Service 156 revised to operate Lea Green to Garswood but still serving Haydock Industrial Estate as well as St Helens Hospital and Liverpool Road (Haydock), reinstating a direct link to St Helens Town Centre for those residents.
  • A new service 39 to replace part of the withdrawn 140 daytime service between St Helens Town Centre and St Helens Junction, covering areas currently without a bus (Aston’s Green Drive/Moss Nook/Reginald Road). The evening service 140, still currently operating, will be renumbered 39A but route and times will not change.
  • Service 141 will have its frequency reduced to two-hourly. This was a commercial decision taken by the operator (Hattons).

Proposals are available to view and comment on via an online survey at merseytravel.gov.uk/about-us/Pages/St-Helens-Bus-Network-Review-2019.aspx from Tuesday, February 12 and Thursday, February 21.

There will also be a drop-in event where members of the public can speak to Merseytravel staff about the proposals and give their feedback.

This will take place on Friday, February 15 from 10am to 3pm at Hardshaw Shopping Centre.

This review is an undertaking of the Bus Alliance, a formal partnership with operators Arriva and Stagecoach, with the aim of transforming bus services to encourage more people to take the bus. However, the bus reviews involve all bus operators.

The final agreed changes will come into effect from April 28.

Cllr Liam Robinson, chairman of Merseytravel, said: “The information we received during the initial consultation from St Helens residents on their patterns of bus use and what would get them to use it more has been extremely helpful and insightful whilst drafting these prosed changes to the network.

“We now want comments on these detailed proposals before we finalise the plans. We’ve worked hard with all the bus operators in re-scoping the network and believe these proposals will offer a network that is clearer, simpler and with some real benefits for the people of St Helens.

“This is us continuing to work innovatively through the Bus Alliance when other areas outside the Liverpool City Region, due to budget pressures, are seeing more and more communities left without any bus services at all.”