Call to extend Liverpool's vital night bus service
Liverpool Combined AuthorityCampaigners who helped reinstate night buses after the pandemic are calling for the "crucial" service to be expanded as a new report shows the positive impact it has had on passengers' safety and the economy.
The N1 night buses between Liverpool and Wirral returned in December 2023.
Craig Pennington, of Future Yard community music venue in Birkenhead, said the late night transport had "removed barriers" for staff - with stories of some sleeping in dressing rooms when they could not get home previously - and customers who had been forced to leave early or not go at all.
He's among those calling for the service to be extended to support more venues, workers and communities across the city region.
Since launching, the N1 operated by Stagecoach has supported almost 60,000 passenger journeys during the early hours of Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings with the fares capped at £2.
The Bringing Back Liverpool's Night Bus report by the University of Liverpool's Institute of Popular Music found the N1 is generating an estimated £4.93 in social and community value for every £1 invested, while "helping passengers save money, feel safer and get to and from late-night work".
But the findings warn that limited promotion, hourly departures and restricted routes are preventing the service from reaching its full potential.
Prof Mathew Flynn, director of the Institute of Popular Music and a board member of the Liverpool City Region Music Board which helped the campaign to restore the service said it was "crucial".
He told BBC Radio Merseyside the night buses had "really improved" things for the night time economy, shift workers and students both coming in and out of the city centre.
But he called for more frequent services running every 30 minutes and new routes to serve more communities across the region.
Flynn said: "A more expansive network of night buses would be the next step beyond what we have achieved with the N1."
The campaign to restore the service began after music venues, promoters and night-time workers told the Liverpool Music Board the decision by private operators to cancel it during the Covid-19 pandemic was affecting staff, audiences and businesses.
Liverpool's Metro mayor Steve Rotheram said he had worked with local campaign groups, students and late night workers to bring it back.
Future Yard was among the venues affected with cross-river public transport ending before many events and shifts had finished.
The chief executive and co-founder of Future Yard CIC, Pennington, said: "The lack of late-night transport was having a very real impact on our staff and audiences.
"People working late could find that much of what they had earned disappeared on a taxi home, while some audiences were forced to leave events early or decide not to come at all.
"We heard stories of people being unable to get home and having to sleep in dressing rooms. The return of the N1 has helped remove some of those barriers and given people a safer, more affordable option.
"We now need to make sure the service is properly promoted and developed so that it can support more venues, workers and communities across the city region."
A spokesperson for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority said late-night services had been brought back between Liverpool and Wirral "to make travelling home safer, cheaper and easier after last orders or final curtain".
"We are pleased to see this report highlight the positive impact of the N1 on the region's vital night-time and cultural economy," a spokesperson said.
"In the coming weeks the combined authority will begin the process of bringing our bus network back under public control, giving us the power to decide when, where and how late bus services run to meet the needs of our region's 1.6 million residents."
The BBC has also contacted Stagecoach for comment.
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