Driving a new era of bus travel: Surrey County Council’s BSIP vision brought to life with Causeway one.network

Published in March 2021, the National Bus Strategy (NBS) for England set out a comprehensive framework to transform the quality of bus services outside London. To deliver against the NBS at a local level, each Local Transport Authority (LTA) creates a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP)—a publicly available document that sets out clearly the vision and plan for improving bus services and growing bus patronage in the local area.

For Surrey County Council (SCC), this means developing a comprehensive strategy to deliver more frequent, reliable and accessible buses, reduce congestion, support the delivery of their net-zero goals and franchising considerations.

Until recently, SCC’s Streetworks team processed thousands of monthly permits without the ability to cross-reference bus-route data. Seeking to improve the proactive planning and coordination of roadworks and the impact on bus services, SCC decided Causeway one.network’s Route Manager module would align with their 2024 - 2030 BSIP ambitions.

The challenge

SCC sits in the busy commuter belt outside London, where a steady increase in roadworks, utility projects, and emergency works places enormous strain on bus routes. The Council:

• Oversees 22 bus operators running around 205 services, including 40 school routes
• Manages 7,000+ bus stops across both urban corridors and rural pockets
• 24 cross-boundary routes linking into Greater London

Coordinating multiple stakeholders and reducing congestion

SCC processes over 2,500 street-works permit applications monthly, with no single digital map tying them to bus services. Through the BSIP process, operators raised with the council the cumulative impacts, such as emergency works or multiple closures along the same corridor/s, were not easily identified and communicated to operators, leading to disruptions for passengers and undermining reliability. This meant there was scope to improve the management and mitigation of street-works to support the bus sector.

Bus operators were telling the County Council that one of biggest issues faced in terms of reliability is the prevalence of works on the Surrey road network—how can we work together to deal with it?

When planning for the 2024-2030 BSIP, SCC quickly realised their current workflows, which often relied on email threads and manual checking for route clashes, could be more efficient and effective. They wanted a more proactive front-end, data-driven approach.

The solution and anticipated benefits

After careful evaluation, they found the right fit in Route Manager as a key piece of the broader puzzle in achieving a  more efficient bus network. It allowed SCC to merge bus route intelligence with street works approvals.

Through the initial discussions with the team at SCC, it was clear that the outcome would be, with no real ability to reduce the number of permits that get approved, to improve their ability to manage and mitigate [their] impact.

SCC decided to roll out Causeway one.network’s Route Manager, a module designed to integrate bus-route mapping with street-works data in one digital interface.

• Real-time clash detection: Route Manager will automatically flag conflicts between planned works and SCC's bus corridors. Bus operators can quickly see planned closures or restrictions that affect their routes, enabling them to raise advanced enquiries, and prepare any diversions, before disruption occurs.
  
  Highways teams also gain a unified dashboard for every permit request, saving time on manual checks and re-scheduling.
• Automatic alerts: Regular automated alerting, via email digest, can be setup to notify any users of scheduled works that may impact routes they operate, or are configured in their system.
• Reduced congestion and improved public engagement: By resolving bus route conflicts early, SCC can cut down on idle times, accelerate journey times and see fewer public complaints. Additionally, they’ll deliver a more appealing alternative to driving as passengers can expect more reliable services and fewer abrupt route detours. 

With the implementation of Route Manager, Streetworks Coordinators can now see how bus routes affected by a permit and start thinking about mitigation options at the earliest stage in the process.

Route Manager will enable SCC to be more proactive and efficient in their processes on permit approves, works coordination and bus network impact mitigation, which is what they need for their BSIP ambitions. They’ll be able to coordinate works, route data, and service changes in one place. Importantly, local bus operators will also have access this data where it relates to their routes on the Surrey bus network.

Looking ahead

Adopting Causeway one.network marks a major step toward meeting the Council’s 2024 - 2030 BSIP goals. Although Route Manager is live, SCC emphasises it’s still “early days”. The council has held two training sessions so far, inviting bus planning staff, Streetworks Coordinators and bus operators to discover how Route Manager supports them.

Additionally, SCC highlights several anticipated benefits:

• Better collaboration across teams: SCC wants to “strengthen partnerships” by empowering the Bus Planning Team, Streetworks Coordinators and bus operators with real-time insight into planned works. This helps everyone stay aligned and better tackle the impact of disruptions more swiftly.
• Route confidence for bus passenger: By reducing last-minute diversions, bus stop suspensions, etc, SCC boosts trust in local buses. This supports their BSIP goals as fewer disruptions encourage people to leave the car behind and embrace more sustainable journeys.

As they refine usage over the coming months, Surrey County Council expects stronger partnerships, tangible progress on managing congestion and, most importantly, greater public confidence in using local bus services.

To discover how Causeway one.network can help you protect your transport routes and keep your services on track, get in touch with us today.