South Bristol will become a “bus desert” when dozens of subsidised services are cut from April, transport campaigners fear. Vital routes to hospitals, schools, colleges and workplaces are among the 42 being axed across the West of England following last month’s vote by its political leaders to stop supporting most of the region’s loss-making routes.
The warning came as Bristol City Council cabinet member for transport Cllr Don Alexander justified the authority’s refusal to increase the transport levy paid to the combined authority for buses by saying “much of that money would go into the pockets of shareholders” of private operators who run them. That sparked a backlash from opposition Conservative and Green councillors accusing the Labour administration of double standards because it had embarked on joint ventures with companies that would also benefit shareholders, such as Legal & General to develop Temple Island and energy firms Ameresco and Vattenfall for the massive City Leap partnership.
Bus passenger champion David Redgewell told a city council budget scrutiny meeting that the root of the problems that had caused 42 subsidised routes to be withdrawn was that metro mayor Dan Norris had to rely on money from the local councils to keep buses running. He said that although Mr Norris led the region’s transport authority Weca, he did not have precepting powers to raise funds directly from residents, like council tax.
