Bus passengers in the greater Bristol region are still waiting for details on the new West Link minibus services. The dial-a-ride services are due to launch at the start of April, but many questions remain about how passengers can use these new buses.
The West Link minibus services follow a ‘demand responsive transport’ model, trialled in a few other places across the country but never before on such a large scale. West Link will cover some parts of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North East Somerset.
The minibuses will likely not follow fixed routes or timetables. Instead, passengers will have to book each journey either by phone or using an app. West of England metro mayor Dan Norris has denied West Link is replacing the many subsidised bus routes getting scrapped in April.
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Mr Norris promised to reveal details about the West Link services — launching in three weeks — as soon as possible. But he faced questions about delays to key information, during a West of England Combined Authority scrutiny meeting on Monday, March 13.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Tristan Clark, representing Frampton Cotterell, said: “We’re three weeks out and we’ve seen no sign of it [a website], or confirmation of what the zones will look like. Demand responsive transport is going to start on April 3, but we have nowhere to direct concerned residents about how it will operate.
“All people have heard about this is essentially through the local press. We have no concrete details about how it will work. In three weeks time people are going to have to fit this into their lives.”
Green Cllr Ed Plowden, representing Windmill Hill, added: “Back in January I made a commitment to some of my residents that at the beginning of March I would print off some stuff, because they’re not digitally connected, and put it through their doors about how it would work. We’re now in the middle of March and I’m still unable to do that. It’s pretty poor.”
One main problem for the West of England is that the government funding for the project has many strict rules about how it can be spent. Mr Norris has two years to make the West Link services profitable enough to pay for themselves, before the government funding runs out. If the services are not able to pay for themselves by April 2025, it’s unclear what will happen next.
Mr Norris said: “The constraints of the money that I get have very tight timeframes and very small windows. So officers have to work incredibly hard to make sure we hit these windows. It isn’t how I would choose it, I would choose it to be a much longer introduction and explanation, but that isn’t how it is.
“I want to be very clear about West Link and demand responsive transport. That is not a substitute for all the subsidised buses that are being cut by local councils. They’re not putting money into buses even though they say buses are important, they’re not subsidising these routes so they’re being cut because of inflation.
“We’re creating a system that’s irrespective of the cuts that are going to be made. This is about bringing people from local bus stops, or virtual bus stops, to the main routes. That’s why there’s been a big investment by the combined authority in getting the frequencies up on the main routes.”
About 42 subsidised routes in the region are due to be axed. The three councils in the combined authority — Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath and North East Somerset — chose not to increase the transport levy they pay to the West of England in line with inflation. This means the combined authority was unable to continue subsidising many bus routes.
'Working 22 hour days'
The metro mayor complained that many other city regions pay far more for subsidising important but unprofitable bus routes. He also claimed that staff at the combined authority were working 22 hours a day to set up the new West Link services, and admitted passengers would probably suffer teething problems while the new system settles in.
Mr Norris said: “Of the 10 combined authorities in England, mine has the second lowest per head sum for subsidised buses. Liverpool has something like £63 per head, but we have something like £22 per head. If you want to get all these kids to school, spend some money like the other councils are doing. They’re choosing to match their words with resources.
“This is the biggest on-demand public transport system that England has ever seen. It’s huge, it’s a big thing. Is it going to be perfect from the outset? No it isn’t. I’ve got two years to make it work and I’m determined to do that. I want this to be commercially viable.
“We will get information out as soon as it’s available. Officers are having to work 22-hour days, because we’ve got this window, and we’ll do our very best. It isn’t ideal and it’s not how I would have chosen to do it. But I’m grateful for the opportunity because other parts of the country don’t get any of this money. So it’s a good problem, even if it’s not an ideal situation.”
Another concern is how schoolchildren will use the services to get to school. Some parts of the region, like Brislington, will see subsidised routes popular with schoolchildren axed, due to the funding cuts. But it’s unclear if children will have to book a new West Link service every day or every week, or even if there will be enough space on the minibus.
Liberal Democrat Andrew Varney, representing Brislington West, said: “In Brislington we’re losing our supported bus services in April. I just don’t know how a minibus is going to transport large numbers of children to school, and if they’ll have to remember to book that bus service every single day rather than just go to a bus stop and get on the bus.”
