‘Glider’ bus could come to Wirral within weeks – Birkenhead News

A new rapid transit glider bus will arrive in Wirral in the “next two weeks”.

Few details have yet been announced, but Wirral Council officers have suggested it will involve Seacombe Ferry Terminal.

In his election manifesto, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram promised to introduce a new bus rapid transit system in Liverpool, which he said would provide more options for people traveling in popular and sometimes hard-to-reach parts of the city.

The system is expected to be similar to the Belfast Glider, which was launched in the Northern Ireland capital in 2018 and runs on two separate lines using dedicated and mixed traffic lanes.

On the Liverpool side of the Mersey, the system is expected to be fully operational by 2028, with the network running between Liverpool city center and Liverpool Airport, as well as Anfield Stadium and Everton’s new Bramley-Moore Dock arena. It is understood that a bus will be tested in the coming weeks.

However, during a discussion on plans for a new mass transport system around the Wirral Waters and other planned developments in Wirral, regeneration officer Tom Booty said discussions about funding were ongoing but the local authority ” looks at the type of Belfast Glider bus I have I think there is actually one coming to Wirral in the next couple of weeks.

“There will be one at Seacombe ferry terminal so people can see what it’s all about. That’s the whole proposition.”

Further details of the scheme have not been publicly disclosed at this time.

The revelations come as Wirral Council faces increasing pressure to publish its mass transport plan for Wirral Waters to improve public transport around Birkenhead Docks and is believed to be crucial to seeing development progress.

A former council officer who worked on the local authority’s regeneration plans said they “were prepared at significant cost and went into great detail, including options for mass transport modes, routes and the detailed design of transit stops”. , adding: “I don’t understand. why the findings of this study have not yet been presented to councillors.”

In October 2021, Wirral Council unveiled a comprehensive new mass transport plan, with a hydrogen-powered bus network alongside better facilities for cycling and walking. The scheme would be seen as a catalyst for Wirral Waters and its wider Birkenhead regeneration plans, with ideas being drawn up for light trams to also connect to the Merseyrail network.

Peel Waters has previously highlighted the need for a good public transport network, but Wirral Council has made few updates since 2021. A report was promised to councilors in early 2022 but has been pushed back to early 2024 and is now due to come out. in committee this fall.

However, the partner of the £20m Belong village scheme pulled out due to a “lack of public transport”, while Wirral Waters said “lack of public transport provision and poor local connectivity are major factors for Hythe not to be fully occupied”.

A councilor on its regeneration committee, Green councilor Ed Lamb on X (formerly of Twitter) said: “The lack of public transport and wider connectivity is a massive failure on the part of the council and the city region” and “doesn’t bode well for a greater part. efforts in Merseyside, not to mention Wirral Waters’.

When asked what assurances it offers partners about its mass transport plans, Wirral Council declined to offer further comment.

Image: A glider bus in operation in Belfast. Credit: citytransportinfo – CC0

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