Multi-million pound proposals to radically change public transport between Gloucester and Cheltenham are moving forward.

Gloucestershire County Council leaders plan to earmark £1.25million next week for developing the Mass Raid Transit (MRT) project.

It could see electric buses providing high frequency services every ten minutes between the city and town. New priority lanes and 'demand responsive' hubs to connect rural areas could also be created.

The aim is to provide a "realistic" alternative to longer car journeys to boost economic growth., reduce congestion and help meet carbon reduction targets.

Puchline-Gloucester.com first reported on the project back in March and revealed that phased construction could begin in 2027  and the new routes would need to be operational before 2030 in order to contribute to closing Gloucestershire's emissions gap.

On Monday (Nov 3) the cabinet will decide whether to appoint WSP UK Ltd to draw up a business case and early scheme development programme for the project.

It has already secured £1m of CIL (Community Levy Infrastructure) funding for the contract. The other £250,000 will come from the council's 2026/27 revenue budget.

"MRT will improve the overall connectivity and efficiency of the transport network, moving more people more quickly on key corridors, enabling growth and better connecting key areas of economic activity to increase productivity," said a report on the project.

"The project has the potential to be central to meeting the area's current and future housing and jobs needs in a sustainable manner," it added.

Civic chiefs have already spent at least £900,000 developing the scheme with the strategic outline case (SOC) already submitted to the Government. It is the first step to securing full funding.

Work on the business case development started in July 2025, funded from approved budgets, totalling £650,000, and is set to be completed by the end of the financial year 2026/27.

The council expects a total of £6m will be needed over three years to take the project to the full business case stage.