Subsidised buses saved after WECA strikes deal

Subsidised buses across the West of England have been given a reprieve after the region’s elected leaders finally hammered out a deal.

Marathon negotiations behind closed doors lasting four-and-a-quarter hours between metro mayor Dan Norris and the leaders of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset councils succeeded in breaking a deadlock over who pays how much.

The rescue package means an initial seven-month extension to current contracts for the 80 supported bus services, which are important routes serving areas like rural communities and hospitals but are not commercially viable so have to be propped up with public money.

It will allow time for an urgent review of where buses should run across the region ahead of new four-year contracts for services, including brand new ones, being agreed with operators, with the new timetable kicking in from next April.

The deal marks a reprieve for 18 loss-making bus services in the Bristol region which would have been lost in August – photo: WECA/ YouTube

The political leaders agreed that supported services will be funded through contributions from the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), led by Labour’s Norris, and the three local councils which comprise it.

They also agreed that any subsidised routes in future would be subject to a “value for money mechanism”, a suggestion that had created an impasse and was largely to blame for the urgent talks being adjourned without agreement last month.

The reconvened extraordinary meeting of the WECA committee was due to start at Bath Guildhall at 2pm on Tuesday but was delayed for Norris, Bristol’s Labour mayor Marvin Rees, South Gloucestershire Council leader Toby Savage and B&NES Council leader Kevin Guy to thrash out a deal in private.

When the “public” meeting finally started at 6.15pm, it was all over in two minutes and 15 seconds, primarily because several staff in the building should have already ended their shifts and needed to lock up.

Two hours, two mins and still no sign of a Weca meeting starting. Tempted to walk in front of the camera and “do a Travolta”, Saturday Night Fever style. https://t.co/4u4kMHrDZI

— AdamPostansLDR (@adam_ldr) June 14, 2022

Guy formally withdrew the proposal backed by the unitary authorities at the May committee and a new resolution tabled by Norris was unanimously accepted.

But it was not read out, so the press and public had no idea what had actually been agreed.

And to compound the confusion, the politicians forgot to switch on their microphones for any of the 135-second duration, which meant the dozens watching the livestream heard only silence before seeing everyone leave.

And while Norris last month slammed that previous way of working as “deals being done in smoke-filled rooms behind the scenes”, insisting at a WECA scrutiny meeting that those days were over, the four-hour private talks followed by the briefest of public sessions to announce vaguely that something had been agreed suggests that is far from the case.

Nevertheless, both sides welcomed the breakthrough which secures the 80 supported services at least until April, including 26 that were at risk of being axed had agreement not been reached.

The extraordinary meeting of WECA lasted two minutes following a four-hour delay for private talks – photo: Google

The metro mayor said: “This is a victory for common sense. We now have a long-term plan, over a four-year period, that will offer stability for passengers and bus companies who want to invest.

Savage told BBC Radio Bristol on Wednesday: “What we’ve been able to agree is that all of those services will be extended for the next seven months, and that gives us the time and space to understand what the future bus network should look like for the West of England.

Lib Dem Guy tweeted: “I am delighted that WECA Leaders were able to agree a rescue package for supported bus services yesterday evening.

“This was in the face of unrelenting cost pressures on local bus services and insufficient support from Government.

Main photo: Betty Woolerton

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