Almost 10 years after a group of Scouse nans organised a protest in Liverpool city centre, bringing Queen Square bus station to a standstill, the much-loved ‘Happy bus’ could soon be restored and put back into service.
The 101 bus was officially withdrawn in 2017 following a major operations restructure by Merseytravel. At the time, the transport authority said it was adapting services to cope with government cuts, and eventually identified subsidised services such as the 101.
Lifeline for Everton and Vauxhall
Merseytravel said local residents had alternative buses they could use, but for many people in Everton and Vauxhall, the service was a lifeline. Over the course of the next decade, the axing of the 101 only seemed to exacerbate the lack of transport connectivity in both areas.
Before being withdrawn, the 101 bus wound through residential streets from Vauxhall to Everton, linking communities across North Liverpool, travelling through to the city centre, as well as Royal Liverpool Hospital.
Protests and campaigners
Merseytravel’s decision resulted in protests, detailed in a Liverpool ECHO report from June 2017 when a group of campaigners staged a protest at Queen Square bus station, where dozens of people marched backwards and forwards across the road at the central transport hub. Many of them carried placards, including one stating: “Don’t press STOP on the Happy Bus”, while some could be heard chanting “Save our bus”.
Marie McGiveron, 71, was part of the 101 Action Committee which led a campaign to save the 101 service. Marie was well used to organising such protests, having led a successful and long-fought crusade to stop the inner city ring road proposal of the 1960s.
The ECHO met Marie in Everton Park late last week to discuss those campaigns and the possibility of the 101 coming back. She said: "The inner city ring road was a £144m project which we stopped at the time, but you have to remember we lost the first leg of it, but we won at the end of the day.
"It's the same with the 101 as far as I'm concerned. We fought hard against the cancellation, but we never stopped campaigning, and knowing the service could be restored means we’re hoping for another victory for the community.
Community bus with a special role
"The reason why we never stopped talking about the 101 is because it belongs to the wider picture of services in Everton and Vauxhall, especially transport.
“It’s a community bus which we knew locally as the 'happy bus' because everybody knew everybody else on it. The 101 connected people to other parts of the community and people would pass on news and updates, where if anything happened like births, deaths, marriages, a lot of it was talked about on the 101 bus.
"It was, and hopefully will be again, a vital part of the area's connectivity and the sooner it's back the better it will be for everyone.”
We also met local ward councillor Jane Corbett at Everton Park who told us discussions are underway around transport services in the area, including the possibility of restoring the 101 bus.
Cllr Corbett said: “Marie has been at the heart of that campaign, and, knowing Marie well over many years now, Marie doesn't give up easily.
“The campaign is being taken seriously by the Leader of the Council, the Mayor, and the local MP as well as all the local Councillors. So I predict happy days with the return of the ‘happy bus’.”
Funding and re-regulation
She added: “With serious levels of funding now coming into the Liverpool City Region and the Council from the new Labour Government to support sound urban regeneration and infrastructure projects we are now in a good position to put in place those much needed East West links.
“That will mean the local communities of Everton and Vauxhall will finally be able to easily get up and down the hill to reach the local shops, schools, health centres, Greatie market, the sports centre and across to the Royal Hospital.
"Alongside that the new policy of the re-regulation of the buses, moving decisions away from being based on profit to being based on need and purpose, will make a massive difference."
The ECHO understands there are plans to link several transport projects together to achieve a "maximum long term impact" for the communities of North Liverpool, including the re-introduction of the 101 bus service, seen as a crucial component for the regeneration of the area.
Local Lib Dem campaigner Kevin Robinson-Hale has also called for the return of the 101, remembering it as a ‘vital’ part of community life before the service was axed.
Mr Robinson-Hale said he wants to see a bus that connects the communities in Everton and Vauxhall, and has been critical of the lack of transport options in the area. He added: “I used to use it to get about myself, and my mum and auntie would use it because it was something like 50p.”
He continued: “My main concern is if it comes back, how long will it actually last?”
