Eighteen bus services in the Bristol region are set to be axed from October, West of England mayor Dan Norris has revealed. The long-feared announcement of which buses will be cut is expected officially next week following a major network review over the summer, but the metro mayor has now named the 11 commercial and seven subsidised routes which he says will be scrapped.
Mr Norris, who heads the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), which is in charge of the region’s strategic transport, says they “threw the kitchen sink at it but ultimately we need more bus drivers”. The commercial services proposed to be cut are: the No 5 Downend to Bristol, No 22 University of Bath to Twerton, No 41 Lawrence Hill to Bristol, No 42 Odd Down park and ride to Bath’s Royal United Hospital, No 72/72A Temple Meads to UWE Frenchay, No 171/172 Paulton to Bath, the X2 Bristol to Yatton, X5 (in part) Bristol to Weston via Portishead, Y3 Yate to Bristol, Y4 Yate to Bristol and the Y5 Chipping Sodbury to Bristol.
The subsidised, or “supported”, buses set for the chop or changes are the No 11 Bathampton to Bath, No 12 Haycombe Cemetery to Bath, No 20 University of Bath to Twerton, No 36 Bristol to Annes which will be extended to Brislington but with the loss of Wick Road, No 82 Paulton to Radstock (Tyning), No 96 Hengrove to Brislington and No 178 Radstock to Bristol. Mr Norris says there will be a new No 47 covering Yate, Bristol and Downend and a new 379 serving Paulton, Bath, Midsomer Norton, Radstock and Bristol.
Read more: Bristol Community Transport axes lifeline buses amid costs crisis
The cuts, which are largely the result of a national bus driver shortage, come into force from October 9. A First Bus spokesperson said it could not confirm the services being cancelled yet because a statutory four-week consultation period on the proposals ends this week, followed by the submission of final timetables to the Traffic Commissioner by this weekend.
They said the operator would confirm all the changes by the end of next week (Friday, September 2). The Labour metro mayor said: “These cuts will be disheartening and worrying for local people.
“The problem of too few drivers to staff our region’s vital bus services has gone off the Richter Scale. We are also living in unprecedented times with annual inflation in the bus industry letting rip at over 40 per cent.
“These two major challenges have come together to create the perfect storm to see commercial bus providers up and down the land cutting back on the services they provide. Even where financial support has been made available by the West of England Combined Authority or the Government to keep local buses going, operators are still unwilling to run these services as they simply don’t have the drivers to operate them.
“These cuts will cause real difficulty for many local people and communities right across our region.” He said he hoped for better news soon on fares and an improved timetable when government funding from the Bus Service Improvement Plan kicked in next April.
“The West of England Combined Authority is looking to use more cost-effective minibuses in future over more traditional buses where this is appropriate,” Mr Norris said. “This also has the advantage that minibus drivers can be trained more quickly to fill the critical shortfall.
“We are already working with the bus companies to identify new drivers, and to then recruit and train them. However, building up a resource of new drivers takes time, and this is really something that should be coordinated by national government.”
South Gloucestershire Council cabinet member for transport Conservative Cllr Steve Reade said: “It is frustrating yet again to see the Weca mayor refusing to fight for vital bus services and again rolling over and ridding our communities of public transport. It is very much becoming the hallmark of his term in office.
“Until now, his insistence on scrapping buses left, right and centre has been exclusively down to a perceived lack of funding despite the millions of pounds in new funding for buses that Weca continues to receive from government. Now he can no longer hide behind that excuse.”
Cllr Reade said Mr Norris’s recent Big Choices on Buses public meetings were “nothing more than a publicity stunt with no involvement from Weca transport officers”. He said: “This engagement also came far too late with no clear way in which it could play a significant role into the network review process being carried out by Weca officers.
“These cuts have demonstrated this process was nothing more than a waste of time.” Bath & North East Somerset Council cabinet member for climate and sustainable travel Lib Dem Cllr Sarah Warren said: “We very much oppose these appalling cuts, which will fall most heavily on disadvantaged and isolated communities, including villages in the Somer Valley and South Bath, as well as on people trying to reach key workplaces such as the RUH.
“This is unacceptable for our residents, many of whom absolutely rely on local bus services to access shops, services, employment or education. It’s shameful that Weca and First have failed to mitigate these cuts.”
She said passengers would be lost forever by next April. “No one can wait six months for a bus,” Cllr Warren said.
“I fear we are on the brink of a vicious cycle of declining public transport, rising congestion and worsening air pollution. Ultimately, we believe that the bus service system, as currently organised, is fundamentally broken.” Bath’s Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse MP said: “Residents have faced months of service cuts and ongoing uncertainty as the West of England Combined Authority and First Bus lurch from one unacceptable ‘quick fix’ to another.
“It’s clear that the basic model of bus funding needs a complete overhaul. I will take the matter up with the Secretary for Transport.”
B&NES Council Labour group leader Cllr Robin Moss said: “These are essential services for many people. They are a lifeline we cannot afford to lose.”
A First West of England spokesperson said: “As a condition of transitional funding arrangements, bus operators had to undertake full network reviews to assess the viability of all routes in light of changes to travel patterns and bus use post-pandemic. The statutory four-week consultation period on the timetable proposals produced by that review ends this week.
"The next stage involves the submission of final timetables to the Traffic Commissioner by this weekend. We appreciate that any changes to services can be concerning and that our customers are understandably keen to learn the details.
"However, we are committed to providing a full and accurate picture of all the changes once the consultation period has ended.
“Like all other bus operators in the UK, we have worked closely with our local authority partners to adapt our services so they are sustainable in the long term. The majority of our networks will be retained, and we will work to match our resources with demand for services in order to provide the majority of our customers with the most reliable network.
“We are committed to constructive partnerships and have been working with local authorities to provide as much notice as possible of any changes to allow them to support alternative arrangements. This reset comes at the same time as ongoing labour market challenges in the bus industry, which are particularly acute in the West of England and have caused unprecedented driver shortages.
“We will be in a position to announce finalised changes for our customers by the end of next week.”
Read next:
Bus services 'still face axe' despite £130m Government U-turn
First Bus acknowledges services are 'not where we want it to be'
Passengers back tax rise if it means saving their buses
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