Big Choices on Buses

Most of us are aware of the problems affecting public transport post-pandemic; and particularly buses in the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) area.  WECA Mayor Dan Norris has recently consulted about this, as decisions have to be made.  The news isn’t good because, while the cost of running buses is spiralling, due to fuel prices and shortage of drivers, not to mention inflation, the number of passengers riding the buses has dropped by 25%. 

Added to this, Covid-subsidies for buses end next March, so cuts are inevitable, though this is the opposite of what is needed, bearing in mind the general cost of living climb, and the need to reduce the number of cars on the roads (for eco as well as congestion reasons).  Interestingly, Mayor Norris seems to have secured £105M for buses from Govt, the second highest in the country, starting next year, though this can’t be used for propping up existing scheduled services.  More information can be found at http://www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/big-choices-on-buses. 

Alliance suggestions for addressing this are:

• Noting the disparity between what the best Local Authorities contribute in subsidy for buses, compared with our slimmer effort, the WECA Authorities should increase their share.  WECA appears second from bottom in the Mayor’s list (Greater Manchester contributes £67.28 per head, while WECA manages only £20.49), while recognising that this might imply the granting of precept-raising powers to the Mayor (as in Manchester).
• Introduce Road User Charging (RUC) as a successor to Bath’s current Clean Air Zone to provide funding to subsidise bus fares, thus making buses more competitive and attractive compared to car journeys.  Fuller buses in turn would earn higher revenues and achieve lower unit operating costs. Some worry that this could deter visitors to the city; but our overall hope would be that with care and skill RUC could be tailored to avoid such negative impacts.
• Investigate expansion of ‘dial-a-ride’ services or Community Transport, as mentioned in the attachment, and as being pursued in many places, where demand is not dense, such as: Wales; Lincolnshire; Munster; and Colorado (despite initial failures in London and Bristol).  Perhaps some of the £105M could be used for this!