BANES Council steps in with nearly £300,000 to save 'supported' bus services
WECA Council leaders last night voted to axe 42 subsidised routes after reducing funding for the buses
Last updated 19th Jan 2023
Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council is stepping-in to support a number of bus services in the region - after a vote was passed to scrap them last night.
On Wednesday evening a meeting of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) voted to ditch 42 subsidised routes across Bristol, BANES and South Gloucestershire from April, with regional Mayor Dan Norris blaming the local council's including BANES, for not fronting up enough money to support them.
But now, just hours after the meeting, BANES Council says it will step in, to save the routes under threat in its own area.
We're told £280,000 of additional funding from BANES Council will safeguard the following routes:
- 2 Bath – Mulberry Park
- 6A Bath – Fairfield – Larkhall
- 8 Bath – Kingsway
- 11 Bath – Bathampton
- 12 Bath – Haycombe Cemetery
- 20 University of Bath – Twerton
- 620 Old Sodbury – Yate – Bath
- 700 Bath – Sion Hill
- 716 Bath – Newbridge
- 734 Bath – Bathwick
- 779 Bath – Gloucester Road
- R3 Weston – Ralph Allen School
BANES Council says this money comes on top of what it already contributes to the WECA funding "pot" for buses and works out as a 36 percent increase in its budget for supported bus services.
Elsewhere, where supported bus routes are still set to be cut, passengers will be able to catch new ‘demand responsive transport’ (DRT) minibus services.
The new dial-a-ride West Link minibus services will act almost like a shared Uber, running in Windmill Hill, Knowle, Brislington and St Annes, as well as large parts of North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
Where DRT is being introduced in April, BANES Council says it will continue to fund some supported services outside of Bath until June, to ease the transition to the new arrangements.
The services to be funded till June are:
- 82 Paulton – Midsomer Norton – Radstock
- 172 Bath – Paulton
- 179 Midsomer Norton – Bath
- 672 Blagdon – Bristol
- 768 Midsomer Norton – Bath
Across the whole BANES, Bristol and South Gloucestershire area, subsidised services facing withdrawal from April include:
- 506 Bristol city centre to Southmead Hospital
- 185 Paulton to Trowbridge
- 636 Whitchurch to Keynsham
- 640 Bishop Sutton to Keynsham
- 668 Peasedown St John to Bristol city centre
- 683 Keynsham to Wells
- 757 Combe Hay to Midsomer Norton
- 178 Midsomer Norton to Brislington Park and Ride
- 752 Hinton Blewett to Bath city centre
- 754 Hinton Blewett to Radstock
- 768 Bath bus station to Radstock and Midsomer Norton
- 52 Hengrove Park to Bristol city centre
- 516 Knowle to Hengrove Park
- 622 Chipping Sodbury to Cribbs Causeway
- 626 Wotton-under-Edge to Bristol city centre
- 511 Bedminster to Hengrove
- 512 Totterdown to Bristol city centre
- 513/514 Knowle to Brislington
- 17 Southmead Hospital to Kingswood
- 84/85 Yate to Wotton-under-Edge
- 623 Hollywood Lane to Cribbs Causeway
- 634 Tomarton to Kingswood
- 663 Somerdale to Chandag Road
- 664 Keynsham to Saltford
- 665 Somerdale to Longmeadow Road
- 684 Wick to Keynsham
- 22 Twerton to Bath Uni
- 202 Chipping Sodbury to Winterbourne
- 963 Patchway to Bradley Stoke and Winterbourne
- 948 Pucklechurch to Mangotsfield and Sir Bernard Lovell School
- 967 Westerleigh to Chipping Sodbury School and Brimsham Green School
- 680 North Yate to Chipping Sodbury and SGS College Filton
Councillor Sarah Warren, Deputy BANES Council Leader and cabinet member Climate and Sustainable Travel, said: “The system for bus provision is broken, both nationally and locally, following many years of funding cuts and deregulation and needs an overhaul.
"We welcome the fresh thinking that has led to the new demand responsive services being introduced, and very much hope that it will provide a flexible and sustainable way for people to access jobs, leisure and work, despite the speed of its introduction by the Mayor.
“Costs across the industry have been rising at a time of reduced funding, and this new model is the only way we are able to retain services for our residents.
"That's why, even with the financial challenges we are facing, we are proposing additional council funding for buses."
Speaking at the WECA meeting last night, Dan Norris reiterated an opinion he has expressed before, that he would like to be able to raise money for buses directly, through council tax, in the same way that the Police and Crime Commissioner can raise money for Avon and Somerset Police.
“In future I would like to have precepting powers," he said.
"I’ve basically been given lists by the unitary authorities of what bus services they’re going to support.
"With inflation and the same budget being frozen, that inevitably leads to cuts.
"That’s not acceptable to me but that’s where we are.
“At the moment we have about £20 a head per year for our transport levy, and that compares to the ones at the top of the combined authorities in other parts of the country, that are £60 a head.
"There are huge reserves in some of our council areas that could perhaps be used in a way that deals with exactly these concerns, and that’s a political choice.”
Responding to claims that the councils could spend more on the transport levy, South Gloucestershire Council leader Toby Savage criticised the West of England’s spending on new offices and temporary staff.
He added many of the council’s reserves are for specific areas and can’t be spent on saving subsidised bus routes, and the council has contributed as much as it can.
Cllr Savage said: “There are resource decisions that are being made, which are perhaps not in the best interest of public transport users.
"I’ve raised concerns in the past about the West of England’s new offices, and over-reliance on interim staff that are often much more costly.
"We could demonstrate better value for money.
“Other combined authorities around the country are different, some have trams or tubes, which therefore does inflate their levy.
"So you’re comparing apples and pears and I don’t think it’s a fair comparison and ultimately not particularly helpful to the public."
You can read more about the WECA decision here: Council leaders vote to cut more than 40 'supported' bus services