The West of England metro mayor has said £8 million earmarked for a birthday bus scheme can’t be spent on restoring subsidised bus routes. Earlier this week Dan Norris announced a new controversial plan to give residents free bus travel during the month of their birthdays.
Starting in July, people living in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset will be able to travel for free on most buses in the region. But the birthday bus scheme has already been criticised as a “gimmick”, while many bus routes have been axed.
The scheme will last for 12 months and is expected to cost the West of England Combined Authority about £8 million. Since it was announced on Tuesday, May 23, many critics have questioned why that money couldn’t instead be spent on subsidising unprofitable bus routes.
