Bristol council cut bus services
Bristol City Council is saving £200,000 from its public transport budget by cutting dozens of bus routes. Councillor Jon Rogers said he regretted the cuts, but said work to speed up buses would make them more profitable and attractive.
He said the council’s work on bus lanes and the introduction of Oyster-style swipe cards would make bus journeys quicker, attracting more people on to them and making them need less council subsidy.
Routes from Staple Hill, Hengrove, Temple Meads, Downend, Whitchurch, Ashton, Filton Avenue and Lockleaze are among those dropped or altered.
A number of services will stop running at 1900 and are being scrapped completely on Sundays. Others will run less frequently or on revised routes.
All the services are operated by First Group, which was recently criticised by the Office of Fair Trading for operating near monopolies in many cities, including Bristol.
Campaigner David Redgewell, of Travelwatch, said the council’s decision was a backward step and “every time… Bristol City Council need to make cuts, the hatchet falls on public transport”.
“We could see a situation in the greater Bristol bus network where you have new shelters, new buses, new bus lanes, but virtually no buses,” he added.
The changes are detailed in a document issued by Bristol Council
