Data has indicated the extent of Bristol's shrinking bus network, with the city named among the ten local authorities with the biggest mileage decline. The number of miles covered by buses in Bristol between 2016/17 and 2021/22 dropped by 30 per cent, according to BBC analysis released this week.
The South West as a whole fared badly, with Bath and North East Somerset experiencing a drop of 33 per cent and Somerset seeing a 43 per cent reduction, the Department for Transport (DfT) data showed. Across Britain, the study showed that local bus networks have shrunk by an estimated 14 per cent between 2016-17 and 2021-22, with the total distance covered by buses each year standing at 210m miles.
Hertfordshire saw the biggest drop of 56.5 per cent, London saw a decrease of 4 per cent, while Blackburn saw an increase of 38 per cent. The DfT's analysis states that London bus mileage has changed very little since the financial year ending 2005.
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The DfT's report adds: "Bus mileage was less severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic than passenger journeys, largely due to the COVID-19 Bus Service Support Grant (CBSSG) which was then followed by the Bus Recovery Grant (BRG) which were both introduced to keep services running that may have otherwise operated at a loss, or not operated at all."
Bus mileage in the West of England is likely to fall even further as cuts to the region’s struggling public transport network are due to come into effect in April. Due to a funding row, about 42 publicly subsidised bus services will no longer be funded and are expected to be withdrawn.
Responsibility for the bus network was handed over to the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) three years ago. Speaking to BBC Points West this week about the latest figures from the Department of Transport, WECA mayor Dan Norris said: "These results are very concerning, but they're a snapshot of a five-year period that ended last March, so what we need to do is look at the passenger numbers since then.
"What I'm pleased to say is that in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, they have doubled since the low of the coronavirus pandemic and in Bath and North East Somerset, they've increased by about two-fold, but I'm in no way complacent about that.
"The challenges are still huge, driver shortages are still a major impact, it's an acute situation, and although there are more drivers coming, it would be very unwise of me to say it's sorted in any sense; I think we've still got quite a way to go."
When asked if Bristol will get the long-awaited underground system planned by Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, Mr Norris said: "No." Plans for a mass transit system would see three or four routes built in Bristol, and was estimated to cost £4 billion several years ago, but will have almost certainly increased in price due to years of delays and high inflation.
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