Local authorities in the West of England are offering people who live or work in the area a range of deals, including up to 12 free bus 'taster' tickets, to encourage sustainable travel. The initiative was first launched last year when Bristol's clean air zone was introduced, but many people are unaware that it is still ongoing.
To take advantage of the offers, residents and workers must fill out a short online form detailing their name and address and agree to be contacted to coordinate the requests. The available deals include 12 free bus taster tickets for Bristol city and ten free bus taster tickets for the West of England region.
The form also has an option for free train taster tickets covering Bristol and the West of England region. Alternatively, drivers who use pay-as-you-go car sharing can get free Car Club credit.
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For those who are more adventurous, there's also a free VOI e-scooter one-day pass and one-month bike and e-bike trials. The scheme can even provide free adult cycle training to build confidence, accompanied rides and a journey-planning session.
In November, the council told Bristol Live that the project had provided a total of 8,100 specific ‘sustainable travel offers’ including 1,222 train tickets to people to take the train, 2,299 ‘bus taster’ tickets to use in Bristol, and another 762 to use in the West of England outside of the city boundary. The council also issued 1,064 car club vouchers, 987 VOI passes and 587 journey planners’.
Around 540 people had requested to join an adult cycle training course and were contacted by the council to set that up, with 81 people requesting a ‘family group cycle training’. The ‘accompanied ride scheme’ saw 451 requests, and there were 107 vouchers provided by the council for people to join an ‘adult group new and returning cyclists’ course.
The scheme has been met with some scepticism as a way to convince drivers to leave their cars at home now the CAZ has been introduced, given the unreliability of Bristol's bus service. On Twitter, @object_000 wrote: "Shouldn't the mitigation be an improved bus service, rather than some free "taster" tickets? Anyone who has tried knows they can't rely on public transport in Bristol."
While @stace_the_face tweeted First Bus when their service didn't turn up, saying: "The irony is I did that consultation survey and got free bus tickets. I was thinking I’d try it out, and it might make me use the buses rather than drive but being stranded in town for 50 mins, frantically looking for alternative buses, with two very tired 4 yr olds is NOT the one."
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