West of England residents promised free bus travel during their birthday month have been unable to apply for passes shortly before the new scheme starts. The website for passengers to apply for a birthday bus pass is still not live, delaying the start of the scheme.
The £8 million plan was announced in May by Dan Norris, metro mayor of the West of England, as a way to encourage more people to travel by bus. People living in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset will be able to apply for a pass online.
But without a functioning website, nobody can currently apply to get a pass and benefit from the free travel. The controversial scheme has now been criticised by opposition politicians, after the delays to its launch.
Read more: Free birthday bus plan questioned by council leaders left in the dark
Councillor Mark Weston, leader of the Conservative group on Bristol City Council, said: “I find it surprising that after much misplaced fanfare around this controversial idea to provide limited free bus passes from next month, more has not been done to ensure that the basic mechanics to administer the scheme are in place.
“Unless the travelling public are able to easily apply, access or take advantage of this blatant electioneering freebie, I fear the major rationale behind it — of encouraging people to make more use of local buses — will be severely undermined. As previously stated, I believe this transport initiative is misconceived and unlikely to represent value for money.
“Following the unveiling last month, it has also emerged that other West of England Combined Authority leaders were in the dark over this plan. I would remind Mayor Norris that the regional forum was designed to be a collaborative venture and not something to be treated as a personal fiefdom.”
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Delays to the launch are due to the government, according to the metro mayor. The combined authority is still waiting for the Department for Transport to sign off the money needed to pay for the free travel. The cost of the year-long plan is estimated at £8 million.
Mr Norris said: “We are still awaiting government sign-off to release the money for the scheme. Department for Transport officials have indicated that they do not require any further information.
“I hope we can get a speedy resolution so the scheme can launch and you can enjoy free travel during this cost-of-living crisis, reduce pollution, tackle congestion, and crucially we can begin the process of gathering data and encouraging behaviour change, which is what birthday buses is all about.”
