News / Extinction Rebellion Youth Bristol
Airport Flyer bus blockaded by XR Youth activists
Youth protesters from Extinction Rebellion blockaded an Airport Flyer bus in the city centre on Sunday.
The action, which began at 12.30pm, was conducted teenage activists in protest of the sweeping cuts to regular bus services in Bristol.
XR Youth Bristol is calling for the West of England Combined Authority to franchise buses as part of the ‘Reclaim our Buses’ campaign.
is needed now More than ever
It wants to see free bus travel in the West of England for under 25s, students apprentices and a consultation and public forum run to identify improvements to bus routes to better serve communities.
The group of environmental activists blocked the bus’ path as it attempted to leave a bus stop on Redcliffe Way, hanging banners out of the window and preventing it from embarking on a return trip to the airport.
They said the bus was returning from the airport to the city centre, so that “no passengers were at risk of missing flights”.
It follows action in November when the movement blocked a bus from leaving Temple Meads in protest of the expansion of Bristol Airport which is currently being decided after a High Court appeal lodged by anti-expansion campaigners.
XR Youth spokesperson Torin Menzies, 17, said: “We are continuing to disrupt the Airport Flyer service because FirstBus have increased the scale of their cuts to the West of England’s buses.
“Our public transport network is in a dire state – FirstBus have shown that they are more interested in serving the potentially expanding Bristol Airport instead of our local communities.”
“Metro mayor Dan Norris needs to take urgent action and introduce bus franchising in order to prevent further deterioration of these vital services – it’s time for WECA to step up and reclaim our buses.”
All photos: James Ward
Read next:
- Protest planned to reclaim our buses
- Bookshop manager warns of impact of spiralling energy bills
- ‘This decision could change the course of the aviation industry’
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