Bus Service Improvement Partnerships (BSIPs)
The Bus Service Improvement Partnerships (BSIPs) are one of the provisions introduced by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. As the name suggests, they are intended to support improvements in bus services by partnership working between local authorities and bus operators.
Highland Council, HITRANS and Bus Operators are currently working on the formation of a formal BSIP for Inner Moray Firth and Lochaber. A steering group meets every two weeks to discuss projects and related BSIP matters.
The intention is that we will invest in:
- bus lanes
- traffic light priorities
- initiatives designed to promote bus use
Operators will also develop their services, for example, through higher frequency or new, better buses.
Bus Partnership Fund (BPF)
To enable councils to invest in facilities, the Scottish Government introduced a Bus Partnership Fund, delivered by Transport Scotland, of £500 million over 5 years.
We secured Phase 1 funding of £2.9 million for 7 projects in the Inner Moray Firth and 3 projects in Lochaber. There is potential that a further £47 million could be secured for further phases of specific projects subject to a gateway review by Transport Scotland.
The BPF consists of 10 projects, some of which require further investigative work before proceeding (subject to a gateway review by Transport Scotland) to progress to design and construction phases through the use of Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG).