Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council has approved the continuation of protecting 1.3million bus journeys to improve the public transport network across the region. The council has been working with Morebus to make sure that the services that matter most to residents are secured for the future.

The council helps to pay for routes that Morebus would be unable to run without financial support.

The importance of key bus routes including the Route One, the 18, and the 36 was highlighted by nearly 3000 residents in a consultation looking at the bus subsidies network.

Changes will be made to two school-specific routes with historically low levels of use.

The route 40, running from Hamworthy to St Edward’s and St Mary’s schools, will stop running at the end of the current academic year, the service is closely replicated by the number 8 and number 9.

Additionally, the 425 service will not run from the end of the 2026/27 school year and the 46 and 81 bus services will be merged.

Councillor David Brown encouraged residents to download the Morebus app and use buses more.

He said:

“Last year’s national bus service shows 91 per cent of bus passengers in the BCP area were satisfied with bus services. 91 per cent is a fantastic result but we are in the top three notionally for local authority areas for bus satisfaction.”

(Picture: David Baker/Dorset County Council)