Bus services to Southmead Hospital are set to be reduced next month as one route is scrapped completely and another set to be reduced. From April there will only be two regular services that go directly to the hospital site, off Southmead Road, following the withdrawal of the 506 bus and the reduction of the 17 service.
A representative from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said that further cuts to the existing hospital service will impact lower paid workers, who are less likely to drive, and that it will be difficult for staff who are starting or ending their shifts early or late. Emma Hallam who spoke to Bristol Live on behalf of RCN members at Southmead Hospital, said she stopped getting the bus to work several years ago because it would take her an hour and a half.
It comes as Bristol Live launched a campaign for Better Buses for Bristol last month. We are demanding an end to almost continual cuts to buses in the city now, and for the longer term solution, we are calling on the Metro Mayor Dan Norris to start the ball rolling on taking back control of the buses in Bristol and creating a franchise system.
READ MORE: Winterbourne residents left ‘stranded’ now their buses have disappeared
As of April 2, the number 24 and 76 will be the only buses that will be operating a regular service directly to the hospital. Both of these buses which are run by First bus will operate under a revised timetable ‘to improve punctuality’ but the frequency and exact timetable is yet to be announced.
The Y6 and the Stagecoach operated number 11 bus will continue to stop inside Southmead Hospital, which is run by North Bristol Trust, but these services run less than one bus an hour, with the last bus being between 8.10pm and 8.40pm during the week. At weekends the service of these two routes tends to be more irregular, the Y6 is then every two hours and the last bus is at 6.40pm.
The number 11 had been listed in 2022 as one of the bus services that were under threat of withdrawal but has not been announced in the most recent round of cuts. Following the cuts to services in October, the Y6 became the only remaining service from Winterbourne into Bristol but residents said the hourly service was unreliable and often subject to cancellations.
The 506 which has been running from Bristol city centre to Southmead Hospital was initially set to be scrapped in October 2022 as the result of a costs crisis within Bristol Community Transport (BCT) but it was saved after the Lemon Bus company (LBC) took it over. Following a reduction in subsidies, the bus was listed as one of the services to be scrapped in April, this came as a disappointment to the LBC director, Tom Druitt, who said the scrapping of the service would create ‘a huge hole in communities’.
The loss of the 506 which travels along residential streets in Lawrence Hill, Easton and Lockleaze before reaching the hospital had been described by Mr Druitt as the most congested route because it travels along many smaller streets which are not served by any other buses. The loss may also impact more on passengers with limited mobility who will have to walk longer distances to their nearest bus stop when attending hospital appointments.
Alongside the discontinuation of the 506, the number 17 is set to be reduced. As of next month, the service which currently operates every thirty minutes during peak times, will be reduced and two late evening journeys will be withdrawn. In a recent announcement of their website, First bus stated in regards to the number 17: “[there will be a] revised timetable to improve punctuality.
“Fewer journeys will operate between Southmead Hospital and Bristol City Centre via Gloucester Road than at present. On Saturday, buses will no longer operate around the Keynsham Loop, the same as on Monday-Friday.
“Sunday buses will continue to operate around the loop. Two late evening journeys between Southmead Hospital and Kingswood will be withdrawn due to the Combined Authority contract for these journeys ending.”
Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: “I know Southmead Hospital staff and patients are disappointed. Buses are a complex funding and regulatory jigsaw. These cuts are due to commercial decisions by bus companies and a reduction in funding by local councils for local authority-supported buses.
"Of the money I have secured from ministers, I’m pleased to have brought forward a £7 million package of big bus improvements which will mean communities can enjoy more regular buses come April. It means Kingswood residents for example can travel to Southmead Hospital via more frequent 42 and 43 services in the evenings to the city centre and then on to the hospital.
"And likewise for Emersons Green residents who would normally use the 506 – they can travel to the hospital via more regular 48 and 49 buses as well. But I’m hopeful we can go even further as we train up more bus drivers and continue to grip this national and regional problem of driver shortages".
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