Free West Midlands Christmas bus travel offer labelled UK's 'biggest'

Festive revellers in the West Midlands are being offered free bus travel in the run-up to Christmas in what is being described as the UK’s biggest bus travel offer. Anyone out in the region can jump on a bus from 7pm onwards from Monday, December 9 to Friday, December 13, and not pay a thing.

So anyone heading to a Christmas party, late-night shopping or seeing a pre-Christmas show will not need a pass or a ticket and can just jump on a bus anywhere from Birmingham and the Black Country to Solihull and Coventry.

The offer is valid from 7pm to 2.59am the next day on each of the five days and covers all bus operators, including National Express West Midlands and Coventry on all buses and Diamond and Stagecoach buses within the West Midlands bus network boundary.

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The weekday offer is said to have ‘never been seen before on this scale in the UK’. Its aim is to see those going out ‘leave the car at home and avoid the stress and expense of driving and parking during the busy holiday period’.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands and West Midlands Combined Authority chair, said: “From day one, I said that making the bus network better for the people of the West Midlands was one of my top priorities and this offer shows we, in partnership with our bus operators, are taking this challenge seriously by being the only region in the country taking these exciting steps to make a difference.

“So many of us will be heading out for parties, meals, stage shows and late-night shopping trips this Christmas. But it can be an expensive time of year, and I hope this free travel offer can help people save a few pounds, make their money go further and see the benefit of travelling by bus while visiting their local high streets and enjoying what our region has to offer this festive season.”

Staff from Transport for West Midlands and National Express West Midlands will be at key city centre locations to help customers and make sure the five-day scheme ‘runs smoothly’. It is expected the increase bus passenger journeys by 30 per cent during the period.

Antony Goozee, bus strategy and commercial director for National Express West Midlands, said: “Buses continue to be the most popular form of public transport here in the West Midlands and we are committed to working in partnership with the Mayor and Transport for West Midlands to drive continual improvements for passengers, while encouraging people to consider ditching their cars and switching to more sustainable travel choices.

“More people using buses is good for the economy, good for the environment and good for wider society and this exciting free travel offer is one of the ways that we’re working together to make it even cheaper and easier for people to travel by bus - there’s never been a better time to get onboard.”

The initiative is part of the £20 million Passenger Incentive Programme which is funded from the West Midlands Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP). It aims to encourage people to try bus travel for the first time or return after a period of absence, to support a passenger-led recovery of the local bus network.

Exact details on the scheme can be found here. Transport for West Midlands said the Passenger Incentive Programme has already distributed more than 200,000 weeks of travel credit, generating nearly two million bus journeys. It added the scheme will be monitored to ‘explore the potential for similar initiatives in the future’.