Financing/Pricing data

Funding and Expenditure 2011/12 : £ million

Revenue Budget: The revenue budget is mainly funded by the levy, which comes from each of the seven Metropolitan District Councils in the West Midlands. The levy is collected through Council Tax from residents of the West Midlands and is paid by each district based population. In 2015/16 the levy amounted to £131.4 million.

Capital budget: Capital expenditure is investment designed to improve public transport facilities and to be of lasting value. Capital spending is financed by grants direct from the Government and from capital receipts generated from selling capital assets.

Supply/Demand Data 2011

Fares 2013

The revenue and capital budgets allow for the implementation of the policies of the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority (WMITA).

Revenue Budget: The revenue budget is mainly funded by the levy, which comes from each of the seven Metropolitan District Councils in the West Midlands. The levy is collected through Council Tax from residents of the West Midlands and is paid by each district based n population. In 2011/12 the levy amounted to £150 million.

Example of Bus Fare Costs 2013

2013	Single trip center	Multiple trips	Monthly pass	Annual pass
Cash fare and bus	£1.00 to £2.30	£4.80	£65.50	£705.00
Tickets	based on main bus operator cash fare	based on one day, all day, nbus ticket	based on 4 week, all day, peak, nbus ticket	based on 52 week, all day, peak, nbus ticket

Provides unlimited use of the services of over 30 bus companies

Example of Multi-Modal Fare Costs 2013

2013	Day ticket	Weekly pass	Monthly pass	Annual pass
Network ticket for zones 1-5	£8.30	£31.00	£93.50	£1,120.00

Unlimited use of the bus, Metro and rail system for the period of ticket purchased

Current developments and projects

Birmingham city centre interchange

Work continues on the £3.9 million Birmingham City Centre Interchange scheme, which will revolutionise bus travel in Birmingham city centre. The project will deliver a major upgrade to bus passenger facilities in the city centre, including a major overhaul of bus routes and stops, which saw the introduction of six bus interchanges around the city centre in summer 2012.
Centro and Birmingham City Council have commissioned the work, which includes improving crossing facilities and signage, the installation of cycle lanes, and improvements to existing and adding new pedestrian crossings. Newly designed shelters, bus totems and other passenger facilities will be provided including easy-to-follow information to encourage public transport and walking journeys.

The work paves the way for when the Midland Metro extension from Snow Hill to New Street station opens in 2015.

£800 million worth of transport projects underway in Birmingham

More than £800 million worth of work to transform the way people travel into and around Birmingham city centre is underway – just 12 months after the launch of a compelling transport vision.

Projects within the ‘Vision for Movement’ blueprint, which will help underpin economic regeneration and cement Birmingham’s future as a vibrant, global city, include a £65 million runway extension at Birmingham Airport, the £127 million extension of the Metro through the heart of the city and the £600 million Gateway redevelopment of New Street Station. Planning and design work is also progressing on an £11 million rapid transit system known as Sprint, running between Five Ways and Walsall.

Work has also started on the £3 million Birmingham Interconnect project, which features new direction signs and information points showing maps and public transport details. The project is designed to make it easier and clearer for both visitors and residents to find their way around the city to major attractions and destinations.

Coventry rail network upgrade

A £19.2 million bid by Centro to upgrade the railway line between Coventry and Nuneaton has been approved.

Centro and partners Coventry City Council and Warwickshire County Council submitted their final detailed bid to the Department for Transport for the upgrade earlier this year.

The Coventry – Nuneaton Rail Upgrade scheme, known locally as NUCKLE, includes a new bay platform at Coventry railway station, a new station at Coventry (Ricoh) Arena, a longer platform at Bedworth and a new station at Bermuda Park.

Smarter Network, Smarter Choices

In June, Centro successfully secured £33.2m for the ‘Smart Network, Smarter Choices’ proposal following a competitive bidding process. The money was awarded from the Government’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund, which is making £600 million available for green travel projects around England. This award, combined with local public and private sector contributions will facilitate the delivery of a £50m package of sustainable transport improvements on 10 key corridors in the West Midlands to help underpin economic growth, job creation and meet tough carbon reduction targets.

£25 million for bus improvements

Bus passengers across the region are in line for a raft of improvements after a groundbreaking partnership between Centro and National Express West Midlands was renewed and enhanced.

The agreement – Transforming Bus Travel 2 – sees the organisations working closely together to drive forward £25 million of improvements over the next two years.

The agreement sees a joint Transforming Bus Travel taskforce develop further reviews of local bus networks, building on the success achieved by recent reviews carried out by Centro and NXWM in East Birmingham and North Solihull, North Walsall, Wolverhampton and West Walsall, Coventry and South Birmingham.

The new networks have involved modernising routes and improving timetables so they are more relevant to existing and potential passengers. In Coventry the new network provides many areas with more frequent services designed to get more of Coventry’s residents travelling by bus. The new network reflects the new, or altered, cross-city links being created following multi-million pound works in the city centre’s Broadgate area by Coventry City Council.
In Wolverhampton and west Walsall a more localised network, cleaner and more modern buses, four cross-city services that improve access to Wolverhampton city centre and, for the first time, an express service between Cannock and Birmingham were just some of the improvements introduced.