'Vital' bus service between Bristol and Blagdon given lifeline to run until July
The 672 bus service due to end in June will now run until the end of July
Last updated 9th Jun 2024
A “vital” bus service due to end in June will now run until the end of July, it was revealed in a surprise announcement at a full session of Bath and North East Somerset Council.
The 672, which runs between Bristol and Blagdon, is set to be the last bus running in the Chew Valley once supported services are cut in April and the new demand responsive WESTlink minibus service is launched.
The 672 was due to stop running at the end of June itself but the council’s deputy leader Richard Samuel revealed at a meeting of the full council on March 16 that the council would now be extending the bus for another month.
The move came as a surprise to Chew Valley locals who were at the meeting.
Dr David Harding, who lives in the Chew Valley and is a Liberal Democrat candidate for the council ward in May’s local elections was addressing the meeting as a public speaker, urging the council to keep the 672 running.
He argued that having spinal bus routes still running “could be vital” to allowing the new demand responsive transport scheme to work.
He said: “As things stand, many people who rely on the buses in the Chew Valley feel stranded. Some commuters will now have to drive to work in Bristol, for instance, as the variable journey start time of demand responsive transport, coupled with waits for connections will take too long, or not precise enough.
“Some elderly and vulnerable folk worry how they will do their shopping or get to their hospital appointments.”
Dr Harding urged the council to find an alternative route that could be supported, or extend the 672 beyond June.
Speaking in time set aside for councillors to ask factual questions of people giving public statements, Mr Samuel asked: “Are you aware that, due to the specific extraordinary circumstances surrounding transport in the Chew Valley that you have described and the untested nature of the demand responsive transport, I have today with councillor Sarah Warren approved further finances that extended the transitional period to the end of July 2023?”
Dr Harding replied: “I was not aware of that — being it hot off the press — however I am absolutely delighted to hear that and I hope going forward everyone in the council can work further to support the services in the Chew Valley.”
Vic Pritchard, who represents the Chew Valley on the council and leads the Conservative group, said in his time for a question: “I did have a factual question but my thunder has been stolen, because the information given by councillor Samuel, I was completely unaware of.
“So it’s news to us both.”
Robin Moss, who leads the Labour group, commented: “An interesting place for council statements to be made about policy changes.”
The council’s decision to extend the 672 comes after the West of England combined authority agreed to put on a new 522 bus requested by Bath and North East Somerset Council, going between Bath and Bristol via Midsomer Norton, but did not commission the Chew Valley bus services the council had asked for.
The council had decided to cut their funding for all supported bus services in North East Somerset, where the new demand responsive WESTlink service is being rolled out — although the Metro Mayor Dan Norris who is behind the scheme has said it is not intended as a replacement for supported services, and councils should continue to fund these.
The 672 was one of five bus services outside of Bath which the council was continuing to fund until June in order to ease the transition to WESTlink.
The meeting was the last of the current council before the May local elections. From Monday, the council will be in the pre-election period — previously known as purdah — when there are tight rules about using council publicity channels or developing new policies.