A £7 million package of improvements to bus services across the region has been welcomed by Bath & North East Somerset Council, but it has called for further clarity on rural routes.
West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris announced a funding package that will see buses operated by First running at “turn up and go frequencies” during rush hour on five key routes.
In addition, buses will run every 15 minutes on more mainline routes that serve passengers changing from a ‘WEST link’ minibus from April.
The Metro Mayor announced his ‘WEST link’ demand-responsive transport (DRT) plans in January and a report to the West of England Combined Authority Committee says that DRT will be deployed across the region from April 2023.
The Mayor’s scheme would see people in the DRT zones booking minibuses in advance via phone, a website, or app.
Councillor Sarah Warren, deputy leader and cabinet member for climate and sustainable travel, said: “We welcome the increase in the number of buses serving the West of England due to operate from April and which the Mayor and First have announced.
“I’ve called previously for the Mayor to invest in ‘spine’ services that complement his proposed demand-responsive minibus services, such as to serve Keynsham, so it is good to see proposals from him that reflect this.
“However, we are still yet to hear from the Mayor about his plans to support spine routes in other areas within Bath and North East Somerset, particularly to serve the Chew Valley.
“The clock is ticking on the launch of his demand-responsive services. We urgently need clarification on how all these services fit together, and more engagement with local communities who rely on local buses.”
The B&NES areas that will see buses run at least every 15 minutes from April are:
- 1 – serving Bath to Southdown
- 5 – serving Bath to Whiteway
- 42/43 – serving Bristol to Kingswood
- x39/349/522 – serving Keynsham, Brislington to Bristol
- 173/174/522/379 (to be renumbered to 172) – serving Midsomer Norton to Bath
- 39/x39 – serving Bath to Bristol
- m2 – serving Long Ashton P&R to Bristol
- 376/379 (to be renumbered to 172) – serving Temple Cloud to Bristol
Details about the changes to services from 2nd April can be found here on the First Bus website here.
Although the West of England Combined Authority is the local transport authority for the area, Bath & North East Somerset Council has earmarked £280,000 from its own budget to the WECA buses ‘pot’.
In Bath, where DRT will not be introduced, the council’s additional funding will safeguard current supported bus services.
Where DRT is being introduced in April, the council will continue to fund some supported services outside of Bath until June, to ease the transition to the new arrangements.
Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: “Turn up and go means passengers will no longer need to worry about checking a timetable as they will know a bus will normally arrive quickly.
“I’ll be monitoring this closely to see if London-style frequency is something that really encourages people to get out of their cars and onto buses as it does in the capital.
“If so, then this is just the kind of top-class bus service I would like to roll out right across our West of England region.
“Many more people will now have the chance to catch more frequent buses thanks to this significant investment from my West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.
“I want to go even further, as we train up even more drivers. Right now, I would encourage people to use the bus. More passengers means more fare income which I’ll reinvest in even better buses so we can build a virtuous circle.”
