Purpose

The purpose of this report is to set out how
the £1.1 million Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) capital
funding is proposed to be spent and to seek the necessary approvals
to do so.

Decision

That:
 
a) approval is given to draw down the
£1.1 million Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) capital
funding allocated in BSIP+ funding for Herefordshire Council
2025/26 in accordance with the Council’s BSIP and supported
by the Enhanced Partnership; and
 
b) delegated authority is given to the Chief
Operating Officer to take all operational decisions (as set out in
paras 3 to 5 below) over the lifetime of the project, to deliver
the investment set out in recommendation (a)

Alternative options considered

That these investments are not made. The
council continues to maintain bus stops in accordance with sound
asset management practices but wholly within the maintenance
allocations made available internally. Furthermore, the council
continues to support bus services to the best of its ability but
without data and planning tools made available. This is not
recommended as this does not seek improvements to passenger
experience nor seek to improve patronage on the network. The grant
would also need to be repaid, so would be a loss of funding to the
council.