Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

[ste]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising
Once Speke, Gillmoss and Bootle come under franchising, will the 10 just run from St Helens, 82/86 from Speke and the 53 from Bootle? Won't that leave a big void in the number of vehicles etc required at Gillmoss?

[gka472l]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

(25/08/2026 21:57)ste Wrote:  Once Speke, Gillmoss and Bootle come under franchising, will the 10 just run from St Helens, 82/86 from Speke and the 53 from Bootle? Won't that leave a big void in the number of vehicles etc required at Gillmoss?

Possibly, although I suspect the full operation of the 14/14A would be from Gillmoss....and frequencies could very well increase on some routes. LCR must have ordered the 108 with plans in mind for them.....

[MTL0201]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising
Here's a ludicrous issue when the X3 starts under franchising next weekend

Merseytravel
@Merseytravel
Hello, Yes, that’s correct. A standard Merseytravel Metro ticket would not be valid for the entire X3 journey from St Helens to LJLA because the route crosses into Halton. The ticket would cover the Merseyside section, but an additional fare would be required for the section within Halton, including around Pex Hill/Cronton College. - Thanks K

https://x.com/Merseytravel/status/2092215252045750381

I thought the idea of franchising was to get rid of these anomalies & & allow travel throughout the route.

[sth77]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

(29/08/2026 07:11)MTL0201 Wrote:  Here's a ludicrous issue when the X3 starts under franchising next weekend

Merseytravel
@Merseytravel
Hello, Yes, that’s correct. A standard Merseytravel Metro ticket would not be valid for the entire X3 journey from St Helens to LJLA because the route crosses into Halton. The ticket would cover the Merseyside section, but an additional fare would be required for the section within Halton, including around Pex Hill/Cronton College. - Thanks K

https://x.com/Merseytravel/status/2092215252045750381

I thought the idea of franchising was to get rid of these anomalies & & allow travel throughout the route.

I’ve said this on another group but the whole ticketing thing is a joke and hasn’t been thought through properly. They are expecting people to pay more, Merseytravel Solo tickets are slightly more expensive then current operator only tickets for the same period length for example a solo weekly is £23.60 whereas a stagecoach weekly is £22.50 something like that anyway.

I also think that there should be a bus & train ticket instead of a solo, Merseyrail only or a trio. The easiest way to do this would be to have an Oyster card system where you can ‘top up’ your metro card by a certain amount that can be used on all and set reasonable fares like in London and then when you reach a ‘daily’ limit it becomes free.

[WhiteVanMan]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

(29/08/2026 07:24)sth77 Wrote:  I also think that there should be a bus & train ticket instead of a solo, Merseyrail only or a trio. The easiest way to do this would be to have an Oyster card system where you can ‘top up’ your metro card by a certain amount that can be used on all and set reasonable fares like in London and then when you reach a ‘daily’ limit it becomes free.

If you are smart, it is surprising how cheap bus travel is in London.

My daughter lives in Loughton, if I catch the tube into London, depending on time of day for what it cost off-peak it's £3.60 or peak it's £5.60, however if I catch the bus, service 20 to Walthamstow (40-mins), then service 55 to Oxford Circus (over an hour), it only £1.70.

[gka472l]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising
I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of METRO app introduced from day 1 along the same lines as the Bee Network app, which was available early on in their franchising, nice and simple too where you can pic bus, tram or bus & tram....

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

(29/08/2026 07:11)MTL0201 Wrote:  Here's a ludicrous issue when the X3 starts under franchising next weekend

Merseytravel
@Merseytravel
Hello, Yes, that’s correct. A standard Merseytravel Metro ticket would not be valid for the entire X3 journey from St Helens to LJLA because the route crosses into Halton. The ticket would cover the Merseyside section, but an additional fare would be required for the section within Halton, including around Pex Hill/Cronton College. - Thanks K

https://x.com/Merseytravel/status/2092215252045750381

I thought the idea of franchising was to get rid of these anomalies & & allow travel throughout the route.

The 320 and 352 will be "fun" to watch as you get a lot of end to end Passengers, more so on the 352 who buy weeklys, if a Solo cannot be used to Wigan it will cause a lot of arguments

[DVG526]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising

(29/08/2026 17:41)gka472l Wrote:  I'm surprised there hasn't been some sort of METRO app introduced from day 1 along the same lines as the Bee Network app, which was available early on in their franchising, nice and simple too where you can pic bus, tram or bus & tram....

We’re talking about Merseytravel here or whatever they want to call themselves this week. Completely inept transport system from top to bottom and nothing will change, only millions wasted on a new identity.

[Valandil]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising
They should at least have a day ticket that's valid everywhere on all Metro buses, inside and outside Merseyside, or at least for journeys starting/ending in Merseyside.

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

RE: Liverpool City Region Bus Franchising
I got this reply when asking about the 320 and 352 Services:

"Good morning Terence, from the 6th September all Merseytravel tickets will be valid on bus franchising services including those that cross into other local authority areas. So all Solo tickets including tickets such as £2 fare, Myticket etc. Please see link for all information and prices on Solo tickets and Myticket https://merseytravel.gov.uk/tickets-and-pricing/ Suzi"

This would seem to suggest said Tickets ARE valid full route including on the X3 and 37/37A