Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

[moreton407]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

(18/01/2026 21:26)peter Wrote:  The draft list of services for Sefton, Knowsley and Liverpool has been published by the CA:

https://liverpoolcityregion-ca.moderngov...20List.pdf

The associated doc outlines the following list of improvements:
For Knowsley the following network changes are being made:
• Regular link between Kirkby and Halewood seven-days a week via Huyton
Industrial Estate
• Direct service between Halewood and Whiston Hospital
• Improved provision to Broadgreen Hospital
• Improved provision to Knowsley Village and Knowsley Industrial Park
• Evening & Sunday journeys introduced on some services

For Liverpool the following network changes are being taken forward:
• Improved link from Speke, Mossley Hill, Smithdown Road, and Vauxhall to
Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool Women’s University Hospital, and
Knowledge Quarter
• A more consistent and customer friendly timetable linking Netherley to
Broadgreen Hospital, Alder Hey Hospital, and Liverpool Women’s University
Hospital
• Introduction of a half hourly service along Great Howard Street
• Evening & Sunday journeys introduced on some services

For Sefton the following network changes are being taken forward:
• Circular service introduced in Southport improving links to Southport &
Formby District General Hospital
• Introduction of a service linking to Ocean Plaza in Southport
• Improved links from Litherland and Pendle to Aintree University Hospital
• Evening & Sunday journeys introduced on some services
• Evening journeys on service 300 to operate in full to/from Southport

https://liverpoolcityregion-ca.moderngov...Update.pdf

Why does it take franchising to make these improvements, shouldn't Merseytravel have made these changes already and saved the region millions of pounds?