Your say / Transport
‘When I take the First Bus gamble, I tend to lose’
Public transport in Bristol is absolutely shambolic and it has been like this for years.
I remember waiting for a bus on a recent morning at 7.40am, hoping to make it to college on time for a class at 9.15am – unsure whether the bus will be full, late or arrive earlier than expected. But at least (most of the time) it showed up.
Nowadays, when I take the First Bus gamble I tend to lose. Regretting my decision, I realise that I am late to my destination and decide to walk instead. It takes less time than waiting for a bus which doesn’t arrive for another half an hour. With First Bus’ recent announcement of 1,500 bus journeys a week being cancelled, the service is bound to get even worse.
is needed now More than ever
But I can’t always walk.
The recent cancellation of so many buses has been branded as the “collapse of Bristol’s public transport system”
It takes me around forty minutes to get to the city centre on foot. I simply don’t have the time. The idea of getting a bike sounds more and more appealing. However, with more rain and temperatures dropping, the only way to get to your destination without getting ill or soaked is to take a bus (or spend even more money on a ridesharing app).
This isn’t a minor inconvenience. People have places to get to, whether it’s work, school, a meeting or any other commitment. Some end up stranded. Naturally, many decide to take the car instead, fuelling the city’s appalling traffic and congestion. This makes the buses even later – a catch 22.
Previously, the First Bus app would inform you when a bus is arriving. Unfortunately, due to its inaccuracy, this is no longer the case. The ‘live tracker’ feature in the app has turned out to only be a prediction – an extension of the already unreliable timetable.
https://twitter.com/Ben_H90/status/1592437420880179209
With the increase in prices for day rider tickets, Bristolians are left with no choice but to pay more for a worse service.
Bristol buses repeatedly have one of the lowest scores for arriving on time in the country: almost a quarter of buses were late from 2020 to 2022. On average, 89 per cent of buses in England were punctual.
With the introduction of the Clean Air Zone, more people will look towards using buses to get to the city centre.
Not having a reliable public transport service during this time will be disastrous. A delay or a cancellation will result in swarms of people waiting at bus stops and with increased demand, the buses will get even fuller
Some argue that public transport in Bristol should be owned by the city council, but First Bus says that they are doing their best to address staff shortages.
However, it is clear that the current situation in Bristol is unacceptable and that change is necessary.
Jedrzej Borkowski is a politics and international relations student at the University of Bristol and doing work experience at Bristol24/7
All photos: Betty Woolerton
Read next:
- 1,500 bus journeys a week to be cancelled due to driver shortages
- Locals ‘left stranded’ by reduced and unreliable bus service
- ‘How can we reach net zero when our public transport system is in shambles?’
- Rees: pandemic should have been used to launch council takeover of bus services
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