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.
