The Levelling Up Fund (LUF) Round 2 Transport bid submitted in August 2022 was to reinvigorate Shropshire’s public transport network through two linked projects:

Shrewsbury Connect 

Replacing existing park and ride bus services in the county town with new services connecting park and ride sites with key destinations across the town, using new electric buses

Shrewsbury Connect is the reimagined Shrewsbury Park & Ride service offering connectivity to a number of key strategic sites across the town, including the Hospital and the railway station, which people across Shropshire seek to access. It is a metro service for the county town and will provide new and improved park and ride sites for key spine routes, cross-town routes and interchange hubs. The LUF investment would provide new and improved passenger facilities including better waiting facilities and real time information in order to improve overall passenger experience. The scheme would be run with new electric buses, therefore, charging infrastructure would be required which would be delivered through the LUF investment.

Rural Connect 

Covering eighteen zones across the county with demand-responsive services using new minibuses, bookable from 30 minutes beforehand to 2 weeks in advance.  Rural Connect would enable people to access services locally in their nearest market town, and to access the wider regional and national transport network by connecting with bus or rail for onwards travel to Shrewsbury and other major destinations.

These projects are the two central elements of Shropshire Connect, our ambitious, holistic all-mode approach to public transport in the county, reshaping the offer in an increasingly sustainable (decarbonised) way.

The bid was submitted by the due date of 2 August 2022 and unfortunately in January 2023 we were informed that we had not been successful this time. Shropshire Council will continue to bid for funding for these and related projects in the future.