Where does Transport for West Midlands spend its money?

1. Who we are and what we do

We are Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). We strive for a vibrant region fuelled by transport choices that are not just inclusive and fair, but appealing. We're here to offer options that people want to use, all while positively shaping our community, improving the local environment, and boosting the health and happiness of our residents.

Our purpose is to ensure there are journeys for everyone so as a combined authority, we can create a better connected, more prosperous, fairer, greener and healthier region.

Our team is proud of what we do. It's not just about helping our residents and visitors travel safely, reliably, and affordably – it's about creating journeys that people want to repeat and are accessible to everyone. We’re motivated to not just maintain, but enhance our local surroundings, and champion a transport system that leaves a lasting, sustainable legacy, touching every corner of our community.

As an organisation, we do many things to make our transport system function most effectively for the customer and deliver experiences that they want to repeat. As well as supporting, convening and influencing we:

	Plan We work across the WMCA, with local authorities and their communities to develop and fund strategies and solutions that not only address current needs but pave the way for the future, ensuring that we consistently stay one step ahead.
	Build  From metro extensions to priority bus routes to new rail stations to world-class ticketing solutions, we are building a transport network that delivers for the everyday needs of the West Midlands.
	Operate And once we build it, we make sure that we continuously improve it to meet the changing demands of the traveling public and ensure their experience lives up to the expectations.

Through all of this, we empower our team to be collaborative, driven, inclusive and innovative. Working with partners, we combine our expertise and energy, to work in the best interests of the transport user and residents of the West Midlands.

This page outlines to you, where we spend your money. The total operating budget of the West Midlands Combined Authority is:

2. Supporting our Community

Each year all seven of the West Midlands Local Authorities contribute money to the annual transport budget. This is called the Transport Levy. It is used to provide transport services to communities across the region. 

This funding covers the delivery of the following transport services and functions:

Transport provides residents of the West Midlands access to jobs, education, and services such as GPs and to undertake leisure trips.

Under the 1985 Transport Act, TfWM has obligations to provide contracted bus services where the commercial market no longer can. We also provide various services to residents who are young, old and out of work through our supported travel policies.

These transport services include

• supporting tickets
• managing bus stops and stations
• ensuring safety and security to the travelling public through the Safer Travel partnership

The National Concessionary Scheme

More than half the levy funds the National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) to provide older and disabled people free bus travel.

This scheme is improved with further local funding to cover train and tram travel for those who qualify.

Additionally, we subsidise our bus network and provide contracted services where commercial services run by bus operators are loss making.

These contracted services have continued to come under pressure from inflationary factors including high fuel and labour costs and slow recovery since the pandemic.

However, simpler fares, the £2 fare cap, and additional central Government funding of approximately £40 million since March 2020 have continued to maintain our bus network throughout 2023 and into 2024.

Safer Travel Partnership

TfWM has a vital role to play in maintaining a safe and secure transport network. We are a part of the Safer Travel partnership which works with British Transport Police and West Midlands Police to keep the travelling public safe.

We have a dedicated team of Police Officers and twelve Transport Safety Officers who patrol the bus, train and tram network.

Supported Travel Policies

Through the Supported Travel Policies and levy funding, TfWM has provided the additional following support the national statutory minimum:  

	Child concessions This includes bus and tram only. Impact in 2023: delivered 11.6 million journeys for young people and children (equating to 5% of all bus boardings) enabled over 55,000 young people to access school enabled over 10,000 young people aged 16–18 to access training and apprenticeships supported over 2,000 disabled young people to access education
	Rail and Metro concessions Impact in 2023: delivered over 1.8 million journeys  enabled over 100,000 existing users to use tram and rail services regularly (equating to 2% of all journeys made in the region)
	Accessible transport This includes Ring and Ride and West Midlands on Demand services. Impact in 2023: supported 194,000 journeys
	Tendered bus network Tendered bus services are subsidised bus routes, which aren’t commercially viable for our operators to run. Impact in 2023: £17 million that keeps over 2.6 million of the population within 400m of a bus stop
	Night time support 'Night time support' refers to the ENCTS post 11.00pm add-on. Impact in 2023: Delivered just under 130,000 journeys Was used by over 14,000 existing pass holders Supported the night-time economy and local centres across the region

In addition to the core supported travel policies, additional funding has been sourced for TfWM to provide:

3. Growing the Transport Network

The West Midlands has an extensive and ever-growing transport network. TfWM is continuing to invest in and support that growth. In 2023, the following journeys have been undertaken:

There have been returns to the patronage levels seen pre-Covid, despite the challenges that operators have faced in providing a commercially sustainable network.

There are now some changing behavioural trends, with greater growth in rail leisure trips, and a continuing decline in the volume of trips on Mondays and Fridays for commuting purposes.

The network itself is continuing to grow, and TfWM receives extra funding to support and grow the transport network. Several funding agreements from central government are spent in the region.

Across the different transport modes, the following investments are being made:

Bus and Sprint Bus

In 2024/25, the City Region Sustain Transport Settlement (CRSTS) funding pot of £1.05bn, awarded from 2022 to 2027, will facilitate the delivery of schemes such as Dudley Bus Station, Sprint bus routes on the A45 in Solihull and Birmingham and Walsall on the A34.

The Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) was introduced in April 2022 and provides a funding allocation of up to £87.9 million. This money is to deliver projects to help stabilise the network and trial incentivisation to encourage people to use the bus. In addition to this, we have also been awarded an indicative funding allocation totalling an extra £16.6m.

Rail

There are new railway stations in development at Moseley, Kings Heath and Pineapple Road, plus new Stations in Willenhall and Darlaston. These are in addition to the recently opened University station that has been made possible from this regional funding of the CRSTS and the £871 million Investment Fund.

Metro and Very Light Rail

In 2024/25 the combined funding will continue to support key project delivery, with the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension being a flagship project.

Meanwhile, the work of transport innovation continues to move at pace. The region is at the heart of trialling Very Light Rail research in Coventry, which is testing a new kind of vehicle and track that could bring down the costs of developing a transport network.

Highways

The roads of the region are vital. The CRSTS funds ongoing highway maintenance work in 2024/25 across Solihull, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Electrifying the network

TfWM recognises the need to move to cleaner fuels as part of a wider air quality strategy. This is because road transport in the West Midlands is the direct source of 82% of Nitrogen Dioxide emissions and 19% of fine particles (PM 2.5) emissions - the UK’s two main air pollutants. There has been a combined investment of £50 million from TfWM, National Express and central Government to run 130 electric buses in Coventry.

In addition to the public transport network, TfWM is supporting private vehicles through the development and delivery of public infrastructure for Zero Emission Vehicles, with £30 million secured from Government funding to enable our communities and businesses to transition away from combustion engines for cars and vans.

Active Travel and micro-mobility

Micromobility availability is being supported. This includes expanding the recently re-launched regional e-scooter hire scheme, building on the existing West Midlands Cycle Hire offering, and ensuring a consistent approach to micromobility within the region.