Plymouth Council has drawn up plans to encourage more people to go by bus to and from the city centre.

The planned improvements to bus facilities in the city centre will vastly improve the passenger experience as well as cut congestion and improve air quality in the city centre. This is a key priority for the Council as part of its Climate Emergency Action Plan that aims to ensure Plymouth is carbon net zero by 2030.

The plans include complementary environmental improvements to address some of the issues which we are facing with climate change.

These improvements are funded by the Department for Transport's Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) along with Historic England heritage funding and a contribution from our own capital improvement programme.

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Improvements being considered for Royal Parade and Mayflower Street include:

• Changes to the layout of bus stops on Royal Parade to improve bus movements

• New bus shelters, positioned within new bus stop layout to maximise space for pedestrians

• The removal of the central railing on Royal Parade in keeping with the original 'Plan for Plymouth'

• Increasing the number of bus stops on Mayflower Street from one to three

• Moving a number of bus services that currently operate from Royal Parade to Mayflower Street. The particular services have yet to be decided, but this reallocation of departure stops will reduce congestion of bus stops currently seen on Royal Parade

• Improved pedestrian movement and circulation with Royal Parade

• The removal of clutter, improvements to surfacing and changes to how we deal with rainfall with sustainable drainage

• Planting new trees and vegetation to improve air quality to help offset the carbon emissions that traffic generates.

The proposed plans will mean some bus services that serve the city centre will operate from Mayflower Street rather than Royal Parade. Alongside improvements to the layout of bus stops, both Mayflower Street and Royal Parade will have new bus shelters at bus stops with improved passenger information displays. If all goes according to plan, work could start next March and be complete by 2023.