
Bus Infrastructure (BI)
The provision and maintenance of bus shelters is generally regarded in areas where two-tier administrations operate as a ‘grey area’, both legally and politically.
Traditionally in Worcestershire bus shelters have been provided by the, the County Council and advertising companies over time, with the city, districts or advertising companies taking over maintenance of these structures as part of their cleaning regimes.
This arrangement has peculiarities, since the public highway (on which most of these bus shelters are situated) is owned and maintained by the County Council, as the highways authority. As such, the vested interest in the provision and maintenance of these structures’ rests with the County Council.
Currently there is mixed ownership of shelters throughout the County which has resulted in an inconsistent level of quality, with highly variable standards of maintenance and cleanliness on a stop-by-stop basis with no official maintenance and repair contract existing for any current owner. Shelters and infrastructure give the first impression of using public transport in Worcestershire and as such need to be of a high quality and maintained if public perception.
Taking control of Infrastructure assets will provide several benefits to the Authority and members of the public:
- legal aspects related to "ownership" are resolved and responsibilities are clearly identified
- full maintenance contract is created allowing for the maintenance and repair of shelters
- standardisation and consistency of shelters would be beneficial to residents as this is public's First Impression of Worcestershire Public Transport
- public will understand who is responsible for Infrastructure and issues will be dealt with
- investment in Technology will be complemented by an Investment in infrastructure
- a re-design, re brand and Re-build will improve public perception of using Local Bus Services and will improve the ability to roll out better information throughout the county
- links to the ability to provide innovative infrastructure solutions that Worcestershire County is delivering
- ability for the Authority to pursue income generation or offset costs at Key Sites within the County
The delivery objectives for Bus Infrastructure in this iteration of the Bus Service Improvement Strategy (BSIP) and subject to funding are: