Nottinghamshire County Council controlled public transport to be moved to East Midlands Combined County Authority

Plans to move the running of public transport from local councils to the East Midlands Mayor went before East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) Board this week.

The transfer includes setting a clear plan for bus service improvements, concessionary fares, supported bus services, smart ticketing, passenger information, planning, infrastructure and more.

Currently, across the region, transport is controlled by four separate bodies; Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and Nottinghamshire County Council.

It is hoped that by moving these services under the control of the combined authority, it will help to create a better transport system for people across the region, especially for those in towns, villages and rural areas.

As a result of the move, the EMCCA will become the only public transport body for the whole region by 2026 — bus functions will begin transitioning in 2025.

It is argued that having good public transport is key to economic growth, and is linked to improving everything from housing, jobs, education and training.

Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward said: “By EMCCA becoming the main public transport body, it gives us a great opportunity to improve our travel networks right across the region.

“We want to transform transport opportunities for all those who live, work and do business in our region, as well as those who come to visit our amazing places.

“The ambition is to create the best possible transport system for the East Midlands and moving public transport functions over to EMCCA will help us to do this.

“There is already some great work being done by our partners at local councils and we will need their passion and expertise to deliver our collective transport ambitions, so I look forward to working together. We will be working together to ensure we retain our valued staff who work on our Transport teams as we complete the transfer to EMCCA.”

It is also hoped that improving public transport will have a knock on effect by helping the region to meet a commitment to reducing carbon, encouraging visitors to travel around the area, and open workers and students up to better opportunities thanks to increased reliability.

The EMCCA listed the development of an integrated and sustainable transport strategy, investment plan and delivery body as a priority.

Plans are also currently being developed by the government which could see the EMCCA region awarded a major increase in funding for transport — an announcement is expected as part of the Spending Review in the Spring 2025.