News / Bristol
Another £10.5m needed as MetroBus costs mount up
A further £10.5m of public money will be ploughed into the MetroBus scheme, as costs continue to escalate.
Frustration among city council cabinet members was audible as they agreed to stump up Bristol’s £6.8m share of additional funds needed to see the project delivered.
The substantial price hike comes against a backdrop of delays and traffic chaos caused by the MetroBus works and the some of the necessary funds will now have to be pulled from other transport improvement schemes, such as station upgrades.
is needed now More than ever
MetroBus works have caused delays in across the city
Initially estimated to cost £203m, the figure is now expected to swell to £230.5m before the Metrobus project is finally delivered.
Delivering the latest update to colleagues at City Hall on Tuesday, deputy mayor Craig Cheney said: “Overall aims are to reduce carbon emissions, support sustainable economic growth, promote accessibility, contribute to better safety and security, improve quality of life and help people get around more easily.
“But is has come at some financial cost and ongoing risk. A cost that has escalated quite significantly since the original business case.
“This is a project and overspend that we have inherited and we are making the best of the situation by forecasting as best we can and containing the extra cost within our existing budgets.”
He added that the additional funding to be ring fenced for the scheme is on based on a “worst case scenario” financial forecast.
Papers presented to cabinet members stated: “The investment in the transport network will ensure it remains operational for public transport operators as well as pedestrians, disabled people and cyclists.”
Green councillor Charlie Bolton asked if there could be any guarantee there will be no further multi-million pound price increase in the total MetroBus cost and asked if there was a limit to how much the council would plough into the scheme.
In response, mayor Marvin Rees said: “This is a programme we inherited and now we have got it, we have to complete it and make it work.
“We do have an element of frustration because we hoped that those questions around safeguarding around cost would have been raised at the beginning, we have to trust that those who have gone before us have put those in place.
“We simply must make it work.”
Read more: MetroBus costs swell by up to £15 million
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