Quality Express Bus Viability Study

This commission is for the continuation of a Quality Express Bus Corridor Identification study, which was completed in 2023 by Mott MacDonald. This study initiated the exploration of what a QEB service should look like by looking at best practice in the UK and elsewhere and identified eighteen potential corridors (or routes) that linked hubs with poor or no rail services and basic demand flows between them.

The purpose of this commission therefore is to continue to explore whether QEBs are a viable concept by building on the initial findings of the 2023 study and addressing the following fundamental aims:

 Identify what makes a QEB route viable, in general, by building on the findings of the 2023 study.  Explore whether any of the corridors identified in the 2023 study are viable and what makes it/them viable.  Create a tool for consistent and clear basic appraisal of QEB routes that will remain valid in the future.

It may be the case that this study identifies that QEBs are not a viable concept or that the concept is viable, but the corridors identified are not. This is an acceptable outcome from this study.