Dozens of bus services paid for by council taxpayers in the Bristol region are under threat amid a row over who will foot rising costs to fund them. A total of 26 “supported” routes that receive public money because they are not commercially viable are at risk of being scrapped, with West of England mayor Dan Norris and South Gloucestershire Council again at the centre of a major bust-up.
The metro mayor has criticised the local authority’s leader Cllr Toby Savage for “reneging” on a deal to pay more to keep the services going, while the council’s transport boss has fired back accusing Mr Norris of “false claims” and for being the one to blame for the potential cuts. Extra cash is needed for subsidised routes because the cost of buses has rocketed by 43 per cent with soaring fuel prices and driver shortages, which means some services that are currently profitable for operators may soon no longer be and will have to rely on taxpayer money alongside the 80 that receive it already.
At the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) committee in April, the leaders of Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils agreed an increase of up to 10 per cent in the transport levy – money from the unitary authorities and developer contributions for supported buses. The decision included a “contribution” from Weca, but it is understood that agreement cannot be reached between the combined authority and the councils on the amount, and the three council leaders have now called an urgent meeting on the issue for Thursday (May 26).
Read more: The changes and cuts planned to First Bus services in Bristol coming into force from today
West of England Labour mayor Mr Norris told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Cllr Savage was to blame for the impasse by “blocking the rise”. He said: “Cllr Savage wants to have his cake and eat it – putting up his hand in public to back buses but then not coming up with the goods.”
Mr Norris said the region’s councils already provided much less per head to run buses than other parts of the country, with the West of England unitary authorities paying £20.49 per person compared with £67.58 in Manchester. “When it comes to transport, you get what you pay for,” he said.
“This is a bus betrayal by South Gloucestershire and they will bear responsibility for savage cuts. This is not a game – real people will suffer if they don’t stick to their promises.
“This money is what councils pay for bus services that just won’t run on the commercial market but are nonetheless really important – cash to help passengers get to vital hospital and GP appointments, to the shops and other important services.” The metro mayor said that although Weca was awarded £105million for buses recently, this could be spent only on new ones and not existing services.
In response, South Gloucestershire Council cabinet member for transport Cllr Steve Reade said: “It is again disappointing that the Weca mayor is inventing reasons to impose his will on the people of South Gloucestershire with false claims over the actions of others. It would seem he is happy to keep throwing us under the bus, but the likelihood is that he will have already cancelled the service.
“South Gloucestershire Council remains committed to seeing bus services protected and that all of our communities are well supported despite the mayor’s record of cutting buses and pursuing lavish new offices. We have been working alongside our neighbouring authorities to review the implications of the recently retendered supported services.
“Having been presented with the potential for an additional levy, one of the key concerns for all three councils is that this would still see services cut, despite providing the extra funding – with Weca’s proposals seeing a disproportionate impact in South Gloucestershire. Alongside Bristol and B&NES councils, South Gloucestershire has written to Weca to bring the decision back to committee and review the mayor’s plans, which would see an unacceptable 26 local bus services being lost.”
Cllr Reade said Mr Norris’s “irresponsible plans” for Weca to move to “luxury new offices”, combined with the metro mayor’s £20,000-a-year salary hike, meant less funding for buses. A letter to Mr Norris from Cllr Savage, Bristol’s Labour mayor Marvin Rees and B&NES Council Lib Dem leader Cllr Kevin Guy requisitioning an extraordinary meeting of the Weca committee this Thursday said the supported bus service contracts were due to expire shortly.
It said: “Unless the combined authority takes urgent action, essential bus service provision will be stopped. We are extremely concerned by the proposed course of action outlined by the combined authority, which if followed would only see the partial letting of some contracts with a further 26 services not awarded.
“This would have significant impact on our residents, especially those who live in rural communities.” According to the April committee report, the transport levy currently totals around £20million and the 10 per cent increase for each of the three local authorities would mean an extra £409,000 for South Gloucestershire, just over £1million for Bristol and £530,000 for B&NES. The 26 services at risk are understood to be specific routes but have not been revealed.
