A cycle ride with Bristol’s new transport boss

The role of Bristol’s top elected transport boss is something of a poisoned chalice.

An issue close to the heart of most people in the city, the answer to chronic congestion problems, ailing bus network, overcrowded roads and air pollution is riddled with complexities and opposing views.

Kye Dudd is the fourth person to hold the cabinet position since 2016 – including a stint where the mayor himself oversaw the portfolio, following the resignation of Mhairi Threlfall.

On a cycle around the city one recent Wednesday morning, Bristol’s newest transport lead talks about the challenge ahead, recent road change controversy, key priorities and gives an update on hopes for an underground mass transit system.

“Transport is a hard one – it’s the biggest mail bag in the cabinet. Everyone has an opinion, and everybody stuck in a traffic jam is a transport planner,” admits Kye, setting out the challenge he faces, adding: “I’m not going to solve all the problems, but I do think I can move certain things along.”

Congestion is one of the biggest problems in the city

Kye grew up on council estates in south Bristol and took a job with Royal Mail after school. It was while working in the company’s Filton offices that he first got involved in union work and that eventually led on to a political career.

“There have been a lot of politicians who have followed similar routes and gone to Oxbridge, so the workers are underrepresented in politics,” says Kye.

“I would say Bristol is bucking the trend – a lot of us in the cabinet alone have grown up on council estates.”

Elected as a Labour councillor in 2016, Kye was the cabinet lead for waste and regulatory services before taking on the transport role in January this year.

He had been in the job for only a day or two when the controversial proposals to radically change the road layout in Westbury-on-Trym were published, prompting a backlash from residents and politicians, including Labour MP for Bristol North West Darren Jones.

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Read more: ‘Council has lost the plot over proposed Westbury-on-Trym road changes’

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“There is a lot of development in the area and the proposed improvements are designed to mitigate housing growth,” says Kye diplomatically. “It’s better to plan ahead than to deal with problems as they come up.”

He adds: “It’s not a piece of work that I signed off and I’m not wed to anything. The consultation is a genuine process and I will be looking very closely at what comes back.”

Defending elements of the plans, he says there are some key safety measures that need to be implemented, as well as bus priority.

In fact, bus priority is a priority across the city.

“The more unpredictable it is, the more people will end up driving so it’s a bit of a vicious cycle,” says Kye.

He reveals that a deal with operator First Bus is close to being finalised, with the aim of increasing the percentage of commuters who travel by bus from 11 per cent to 20 per cent.

This involves improving infrastructure and bus priority on the council’s part, while First must commit to increasing the number of buses.

It could see services as much as double on key commuter routes, with additional plans to ‘clean up’ the bus and taxi fleets to make them more eco-friendly.

Kye adds that better infrastructure for buses goes hand in hand with improved cycling provision.

The cabinet member for transport makes the commute from his home in St Paul’s to work in Filton by bike – taking advantage of the off-road networks that take you past the Ashley Vale allotments and out along Concorde Way.

Between rain showers, Kye points out the spots earmarked for new railway stations along the way. Crossing Muller Road – one of the city’s worst congestion spots – he notes the level of traffic even at off-peak times.

Kye says bus priority is necessary along Muller Road

A consultation is currently underway on proposals to add an extra southbound lane to sections of the road for buses, cyclists, taxis and motorcycles, as well as bus stop improvements and widening of pavements to improve safety for schoolchildren and pedestrians.

The area already has two new supermarkets and a new school is due to open on Romney Avenue on September, along with plans for more than 1,000 new homes in Lockleaze, so Kye is committed to instigating changes.

Referring to the controversial proposals for a south Bristol ring road, he insists infrastructure is needed with plans for more than 2,000 homes, but says he is open to alternative proposals from concerned residents.

Will a congestion charge be introduced in Bristol?

With volumes of traffic at the root of much of Bristol’s transport problems, is a congestion charge on the cards for the city?

The transport boss hasn’t ruled it out, but maintains that if charges are introduced, people need to be able to see it paying for a better transport offer.

He confirms that the possibility of a Bristol underground is still very much on the table.

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Read more: More on Bristol underground revealed

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“The only way to get a mass transit system separate from existing traffic is to get more capacity,” says Kye. “And we only get that by digging down or building above – going above would be more expensive and disruptive than going underground.”

Options of trams and rail are both being looked at as the plans develop. “We have not ruled anything out,” continues Kye.

“They have looked at geology, cost and demand for services. Bristol would be higher in terms of demand than cities that already have that kind of service.”

He says funds would need to be raised from investors, with some expected from the government, adding: “I know there is a lot of scepticism in Bristol and I do not blame people, but this is feasible at the moment and we should have bold ambitions for our city.”

Read more: Cracking the challenge of Bristol’s transport problems