The number 84/85 bus service has been given a last-minute three-month extension following news last week it could be axed. The proposed cut was labelled 'a legacy of South Gloucestershire Council's recently-departed Conservative administration", with the new administration - fronted by newly-elected leader Cllr Claire Young - working to find possible solutions.
The previous contract was set to run out on June 3, but has since been extended for a further three months while a 'longer-term solution' is explored. A replacement 84/85 service will be run by bus operator The Big Lemon and, from today (June 5). It will operate to a limited timetable, every two hours in each direction. It comes as Bristol Live is campaigning for a better bus service across the city.
Due to the emergency arrangement, the council said it has not been possible to update the existing bus timetable information, however it will be available soon and will be featured via this Travel West link. Residents who rely on the number 84/85 bus service, which serves Wotton and Yate, say they will feel 'cut off' if it isn't retained to a reliable standard and, when news broke last week that the service could be removed entirely, it led to fears of people being unable to travel to work, school and medical appointments.
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The council added that, at this stage, it wasn't possible to find an exact like-for-like replacement for the previous 84/85 timetable, so the focus has been to retain a service. The school journeys to Chipping Sodbury and Katherine Lady Berkeley have been retained, except for the afternoon journey from Chipping Sodbury School, and it is hoped that the recently-launched 'demand responsive transport' will be able to help cover any gaps.
Councillor Chris Willmore, cabinet member with responsibility for planning, regeneration and infrastructure said: “We are relieved to have found a solution that enables us to continue this important bus service and would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to deliver this extension. We know how vital this service is to many of our local communities and share the concerns about its removal that have been raised by affected residents, with many of them relying on these services to get to their doctor, work and school.
“We are very grateful to the various campaign groups for all they have been doing to collect the heart-breaking evidence of these impacts and bring them to the centre stage of this issue. We also recognise the important role that public transport plays in reducing South Gloucestershire’s carbon footprint and for delivering on climate emergency commitments.
“We will now work closely with our neighbour authorities, WECA and the relevant town and parish councils to secure the route’s future.”
The changes have brought about stress and anxiety for local residents who regularly use the bus service and many are still calling for a more reliable service to ensure they don't feel 'cut off'.
April Haddrell, 83, who lives with her 13-year-old Border Collie in Charfield, says she relies on the bus service to stay connected with loved ones. "I use it in the week," she says, "I usually go to meet my cousin on a Saturday, which I've been doing for 23 years.
"She has no relatives locally and my relatives are 150 miles away and she's not very well, so I go there to see her. It's awful really, she lives in Bath and the only thing I can do if the bus doesn't come is to go in, occasionally, in a taxi.
"But that's £50 there and back, which is not something many people can afford to do - elderly people or young people." April, who is now retired, ran a B&B for 28 years until the Covid pandemic hit.
She says: "Before, you could interconnect with other buses, to the station or go to other places, but it's not going to be possible. There are lots of people here who aren't online, so it's more difficult for them.
"We're all having problems to be able to get to the doctors, dentist, opticians and, usually, if you go to those places it's not just one trip, you have to go back two or three times. It's the same with shopping - you can do your groceries online, but it's nice to go out and choose what you want, especially when buying a pair of shoes or a birthday present, or something."
"Come the winter when people can't go anywhere, they're going to get very depressed"
April says that there is a small shop in the village where she lives and there has been talk of a Co-Op coming to the area but, she says, 'that's as far as it goes'. She added: "I suppose they're going to have to rely on somebody to take them, which isn't ideal because you like to be independent.
"I think the minibuses they've put in don't seem to work very well. People have phoned up and they can't get a bus and it took someone I know two hours and 20 minutes to get to Yate, because it went everywhere else first. If you want to go shopping or to the doctors and you call the bus, it's got to be a time to suit you and not them.
"Really it's got to work more like a bus service or a taxi service, which it won't and, also, will they accommodate wheelchairs, pushchairs, loaded shopping trolleys on these tiny buses - I don't think they will. At the moment I think, with the sunshine, it's not too bad but come the winter when people can't go anywhere, they're going to get very depressed which, again, is going to inflict on the NHS, surely."
April believes that, as the local population ages, there's going to be a greater need for buses. She adds that the younger generation will be left relying on their parents to drop them to places if the bus service isn't retained permanently.
'Very inconvenient'
Another resident who relies on the bus service to get around is Shohannah, who moved to the country some three weeks ago from Sri Lanka, like a few of her co-workers at Beaufort House nursing home at Hawkesbury Upton. Working as the administrator, Shohannah currently lives in staff accommodation, however that will only be available to her for six months and then she will have to find a place of her own.
After that, if the bus service isn't retained permanently, she will face the added stresses of working out how she will get into work each day - something some of her co-workers are already anxious about. Shohannah said: "My husband is a carer and he came here two months ago, so we're not in a position to buy a car yet, so the bus is our only mode of transportation right now. We have to go into Yate and our chef here at the Beaufort House is also from Sri Lanka and he has to go to Wotton every month to get his prescription and medication, so it's very inconvenient for all of us.
"When you move to a new place, you don't want to be stranded without transportation - you have limited resources already."
Shohannah has been sharing her concerns with local residents who she meets at the bus stop. "Because it's a small community here, we meet people at the bus stops and make friends with them. Even they complain about it," she said.
"Some are older people, so they're not in a position to drive or take their own vehicles, so they do depend on the bus service."
"Ultimately we want a longer term solution for our residents"
This recent possibility of axing the 84/85 service comes amid what the local administration is calling 'a bleak picture where almost one in 10 local bus services were axed in the last year, despite the Conservative government's promises to improve local transport connectivity being a key pillar of its levelling up agenda. The reductions are equivalent to more than 1,000 registered routes – following the publication of a national bus strategy for England in 2021, aimed at improving routes and service frequencies'.
Cllr Young said: “We are looking at the situation very carefully and working to fix the mess that has been left to us. We share the frustration of local residents."
Following the latest update regarding the emergency arrangement, Councillor Philip Robinson, cabinet member for bus transport at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “We knew from the outset just how damaging these cuts would be for our residents, when we were first made aware of the proposals at the start of this year. This is why we have worked extensively with our partners to find a solution. We’re pleased to financially contribute to this three month offer but ultimately we want a longer term solution for our residents.”
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