Dozens of services under threat due to funding in council bus bust-up

Dozens of bus services paid for by council taxpayers in the Bristol region are under threat amid a row over who will foot rising costs to fund them.

A total of 26 “supported” routes that receive public money because they are not commercially viable are at risk of being scrapped, with West of England mayor Dan Norris and South Gloucestershire Council again at the centre of a major bust-up.

The Labour metro mayor has criticised the council’s leader Conservative Toby Savage for “reneging” on a deal to pay more to keep the services going, while South Gloucestershire’s transport boss has fired back accusing Norris of “false claims” and for being the one to blame for the potential cuts.

Extra cash is needed for subsidised routes because the cost of buses has rocketed by 43 per cent with soaring fuel prices and driver shortages, which means some services that are currently profitable for operators may soon no longer be and will have to rely on taxpayer money alongside the 80 that receive it already.

Dan Norris said “when it comes to transport, you get what you pay for” – photo: WECA

At the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) committee in April, the leaders of Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils agreed an increase of up to ten per cent in the transport levy – money from the unitary authorities and developer contributions for supported buses.

The decision included a “contribution” from WECA, but it is understood that agreement cannot be reached between the combined authority and the councils on the amount, and the three council leaders have now called an urgent meeting on the issue for Thursday.

Norris told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that Savage was to blame for the impasse by “blocking the rise”.

He said: “Councillor Savage wants to have his cake and eat it – putting up his hand in public to back buses but then not coming up with the goods.”

Norris said the region’s councils already provided much less per head to run buses than other parts of the country, with the West of England unitary authorities paying £20.49 per person compared with £67.58 in Manchester.

“When it comes to transport, you get what you pay for,” he said.

“This is a bus betrayal by South Gloucestershire and they will bear responsibility for savage cuts. This is not a game – real people will suffer if they don’t stick to their promises.

“This money is what councils pay for bus services that just won’t run on the commercial market but are nonetheless really important – cash to help passengers get to vital hospital and GP appointments, to the shops and other important services.”

The metro mayor said that although WECA was awarded £105m for buses recently, this could be spent only on new ones and not existing services.

The 26 services at risk are understood to be specific routes but have not been revealed – photo: Ellie Pipe

In response, South Gloucestershire Council cabinet member for transport Steve Reade said: “It is again disappointing that the WECA mayor is inventing reasons to impose his will on the people of South Gloucestershire with false claims over the actions of others.

“It would seem he is happy to keep throwing us under the bus, but the likelihood is that he will have already cancelled the service.

“South Gloucestershire Council remains committed to seeing bus services protected and that all of our communities are well supported despite the mayor’s record of cutting buses and pursuing lavish new offices.

“Having been presented with the potential for an additional levy, one of the key concerns for all three councils is that this would still see services cut, despite providing the extra funding – with WECA’s proposals seeing a disproportionate impact in South Gloucestershire.”

A letter to Norris from Savage, Bristol’s Labour mayor Marvin Rees and B&NES Council Lib Dem leader Kevin Guy requisitioning an extraordinary meeting of the WECA committee this Thursday said the supported bus service contracts were due to expire shortly.

It said: “Unless the combined authority takes urgent action, essential bus service provision will be stopped.

“We are extremely concerned by the proposed course of action outlined by the combined authority, which if followed would only see the partial letting of some contracts with a further 26 services not awarded.

“This would have significant impact on our residents, especially those who live in rural communities.”

According to the April committee report, the transport levy currently totals around £20m and the 10 per cent increase for each of the three local authorities would mean an extra £409,000 for South Gloucestershire, just over £1m for Bristol and £530,000 for B&NES.

The 26 services at risk are understood to be specific routes but have not been revealed.

Adam Postans is a local democracy reporter for Bristol 

Main photo: Ellie Pipe

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