The Mayor of the East Midlands is set to invest £148m to improve public transport services across the region over the next three years.
Highlights include more than £25m towards significant upgrades to the A38 Hucknall to Sutton-in-Ashfield corridor to improve punctuality, efficiency and the street environment, as well as £4m towards facility improvements and better access to Derby Bus Station.
Mayor Claire Ward said:
“This £148m investment is a major step towards the reliable, modern transport network our region needs. By improving key routes, upgrading stations and enhancing local hubs, we’re making everyday journeys quicker, safer and more accessible for the people of the East Midlands.
“We’re focused on better connections – more reliable bus services, improved passenger facilities, as well as tools that bring everything into one place, like the Ride app. Alongside this, investment in electric buses and active travel will help build a greener, more sustainable network.
“We know transport is part of life, affecting everything from the jobs we get to do to how clean and accessible our places feel. This programme will help unlock growth, connect our communities and ensure people can travel easily and confidently across the East Midlands.”
As part of the 2026-29 transport investment programme, £10m is earmarked towards Sutton-in-Ashfield bus station, with further funds allocated to bus priority measures to improve the reliability of services on key routes connecting into Nottingham city centre and also towards electric buses to provide new vehicles and more efficient journeys.
Funds are also allocated to five new transport interchange hubs in town centres across Derbyshire, enhancing waiting facilities, information, active travel features and safety measures including CCTV and lighting, as well as a region-wide programme of improvements to shelters and expansion of real-time information to improve the journey experience for all passengers.
The money supports the Bus Service Improvement Plan being developed by EMCCA this year and builds on a transport investment package of £470m agreed at the last EMCCA board meeting in March. The package – the largest funding settlement ever secured for the region – included £121m per year to be shared by the four local highways authorities of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire towards tackling the “backlog of maintenance issues across our highways”, a 140 per cent uplift on maintenance investment in 2024-25.
(Picture: Alex Wilkinson Media)
