First Bus is a “cancer” on the Bristol region and should be stripped of its right to run its “egregiously poor” service, furious passengers told councillors. Residents who rely on buses voiced their anger at a meeting of the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), which is responsible for strategic transport, and urged drastic action to solve the crisis.
It comes as the company last week announced the “temporary” cancellation of 1,450 bus journeys a week across the city, until at least April, because of a desperate shortage of drivers to meet its own timetables. Bristol West Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire described the cancellations to more than a dozen routes as “the apparent collapse of Bristol’s public transport system”, while passengers spoke of the devastating impact on an already crumbling network.
In response, First said it was “extremely sorry” for the problems and said the changes would make services more reliable in the meantime. Speaking at Weca audit committee public forum on Thursday, November 17, Joe Aldous said: “Every morning I have to walk five miles to work because the three buses that are supposedly meant to operate to get me in for 9am never run.
