Service cuts to Bristol's council-subsidised buses and related topics

[whole diary]

[JayMac]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Bus services subsidised by Bristol city council are under threat due to "unexpected cost rises", the authority has announced.

Tenders from a variety of bus operators came in at ^1.2m more than the hung council had budgeted for.

The council subsidises 81 services - including off-peak, local "shopper" and park-and-ride routes - and two ferry services, now also under review.

The frequency of some are likely to be reduced and others could go entirely.

More than 50% of bus services supported by the authority are currently run by First.

The operator also controls 95% of non-subsidised services in the city.

The Liberal Democrat group said the council was currently spending just over ^5m on transport subsidies and had already planned to cut its support by ^1m over the next two years.

It said the reasons for the higher-than-expected tenders included fuel price rises, a 20% cut in bus service operators' grants and reductions in the government's concessionary travel reimbursement factor since contracts were last let in 2006.

New executive member for transport Tim Kent said: "We are looking urgently at a range of options and will do all we can to protect services and the communities who depend on them across the city."

A decision will be made by the council's Cabinet on 9 June.

[ChrisB]

If I were a Bristol bus driver, I'd be worried for my job I think.

[JayMac]

A further update from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Cuts totalling ^2m are to be made to the transport budget in Bristol meaning services such as the yellow school bus in Henbury could be axed.

Bank holiday bus services and the commuter ferry service in the docks could all lose their subsidies and park and ride fares may increase.

More than 1,500 people replied to a survey which ran from March to May.

Any final decisions over the transport budget are due to be made at a cabinet meeting on 9 June.

In November 2010, contracts to run 60 subsidised services were put out to tender.

The Liberal Democrat-controlled council said at the time that it hoped increased competition for incumbent operator First would help to lower fares.

But no other major operator tabled a serious bid.

Tim Kent, the Liberal Democrat in charge of transport, said the tendering process had shown some routes would become more expensive to subsidise.

"Some of these contracts were over four years old so I guess it's no surprise that there would be an increase. Some routes have increased more than others - the average is around 20-25% in costs."

Mark Bradshaw, Labour's transport spokesman, said his party wanted to work to save services.

"What we need to do now is to salvage this and work to protect many people in Bristol who have a service that they depend on to get to work and get to school."

Richard Rankin from Number Seven Boat Trips, which run from Hotwells to the city centre, said he was not surprised that the axe may fall there.

"The morning and evening commuter service on the Hotwells route hasn't brought forward the numbers. The grim reality is that it is less than double figures in the mornings. There's probably quite a lot of justification in the council spending its money elsewhere."

I'm selfishly hoping that the 517/518 Wessex Connect services in my neck of the woods survive unscatched. 'Tis 80p cheaper using them rather than First to get to Shirehampton.

[JayMac]

Again, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page). More detail on specific cuts and an interesting snippet about a trial of a 'passenger train' on the Portishead Line in September.

Bristol bus and ferry service subsidies go in council cuts

Council subsidies for Bristol bank holiday buses and the commuter ferry service will go after the city cabinet voted through transport cuts of ^2.2m.

The hung council will also stop subsidising some evening services, meaning buses could run every hour instead of half hour.

The yellow school bus in Henbury could be saved if the school agrees to share the cost with the council.

Negotiations are continuing on whether night buses will still be subsidised.

The cuts will mean an end to the ferry service and it will be up to the bus companies to decide if bank holiday services can continue.

The Harbourside Orbital (500) and Bedminster Down to Hotwells Shopper (510) services will finish completely, and subsidies will end for all Sunday evening buses.

The council has told Henbury School it will pay a small amount to keep the Yellow Bus to the school gates from Southmead going if the school also provides funding.

Portishead rail line

Park and Ride services will now stop at 1900 BST and run less frequently. Fares will go up 50p from September and the routes - now run by CT Plus - will be served by bendy buses.

If the night buses continue, fares will go up by ^1 a ticket in September.

The city council also announced a cab-share service which will begin in September along set routes with set fares.

In the same month, a passenger train will be trialed on the Portishead rail line with the intention of bringing the line back into use within 5 years.

The cuts were made following a public survey between March and May in which more than 1,500 people took part.

In November 2010, contracts to run 60 subsidised services were put out to tender.

The council, then controlled by the Liberal Democrats, said at the time it hoped increased competition for incumbent operator First would help to lower fares.

But no other major operator tabled a serious bid.

Tim Kent, the Liberal Democrat in charge of transport, said the tendering process had shown some routes would become more expensive to subsidise.

[anthony215]

Off peak FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should have a spare unit sitting at Temple Meads to work this trial, wont network rail have to install an extra set of tracks from Bristol TM^‡(resolve) to parson St to allow these extra services?

[devon_metro]

Off peak FGW^▸ (First Great Western) should have a spare unit sitting at Temple Meads to work this trial, wont network rail have to install an extra set of tracks from Bristol TM^‡(resolve) to parson St to allow these extra services?

No

[JayMac]

I see this as a trial of a passenger train, not a trial passenger service. There's nowhere at present on the Portishead Line where passengers can safely alight.

[Lee]

Interesting that the places I spend most time in these days, such as Portsmouth, Melksham and Bristol, seem to end up losing most of their Sunday evening bus services..

[JayMac]

Following the cuts to local authority subsidised bus services in Greater Bristol and South Gloucestershire in early September I was disappointed to find one of my regular journeys, the services between Shirehampton and Bristol Parkway, were to be reduced from 4 an hour to 2 an hour.

However, that bitter pill has been sugared somewhat by a most welcome reduction in the fares. And not just the odd 5 or 10p reduction either. Prior to the changes a single from Shirehampton Village/Lawrence Weston to Westbury-on-Trym was ^2.30. That fare is now ^1!

A single from Lawrence Weston to Bristol Parkway used to cost me ^2.70, that has been reduced to ^2.30.

The journey from the stop nearest to Shirehampton Station to my local stop used to cost ^1.50. That now is ^1.

In these straitened times it is unusual to see such reductions in the cost of public transport. Individually these savings are small beer, but for me they all add up and do make a difference. It's just unfortunate that the savings I'm currently making are likely to be wiped out by the 8% (on average) rise in rail fares that is coming in January.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

One-fare bus ticket plan proposed in Bristol and Bath

Cheaper bus tickets that can be used by passengers across different service operators could be introduced around Bristol and Bath.

The Competition Commission made the proposal after it found certain bus operators dominated the area.

The new scheme would mean a one-fare ticket could be used on any bus, whether operated by First, Wessex, Abus or another operator.

It is supported by Bristol City and Bath and North East Somerset Councils.

Executive member for transport at Bristol City Council, Tim Kent, said: "People want flexibility with their bus service and to be able to use different operators while not having to keep buying separate tickets."

His counterpart at Bath and North East Somerset Council, Richard Symonds, added: "In Bath we have a ticket that can be used across operators, but the fare rate was set too high by those operators.

"The Competition Commission is proposing to give us the ability to set the price so that it is competitive with the main operator's price. This is exactly what the public want."

[inspector_blakey]

A similar scheme was introduced after years of debate in Oxford this summer, and appears to be working very well from the limited observations I have been able to make. Slightly different situation in that services there are more or less evenly split between the Oxford Bus Company (a GoAhead operation) and Stagecoach, to the extent that they used to compete directly on most of the principal routes, rather than Bristol which is still very much First-dominated. Previously, if you bought a return ticket it was only good on the relevant operator's services, so you ran the risk of having to wait for the appropriate-liveried bus to come by. Now there's cross-operator acceptance which is very handy.

http://www.oxfordbus.co.uk/main.php?page_id=224

[matt473]

I hope this scheme will be like the West Wales rover bus ticket which for ^6 allows travel on all services orginating or travelling through Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceridigion for ^6 which can be used on nearly all bus services in the region. High levels of flexibility thanks to such a ticket would benefit Bristol with Wessex Connect gradually increasing the number of services they run along with the potential for different operators running evening services as opposed to the daytime operators when Bristol City council retender all the services as planned. Could easily be integrated with a Bristol style Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) card with ease too

[JayMac]

'Any Permitted' single fares on bus routes coupled with a PAYG^▸ (Pay as you go) Smartcard would be nice, not just area 'day' tickets. Touch in on one bus, change en route, then touch out on another bus. Could that work?

[inspector_blakey]

Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight operates (or used to operate) a similar system but using paper tickets - you just bought a single through ticket to your destination on your first bus.

[anthony215]

Southern Vectis on the Isle of Wight operates (or used to operate) a similar system but using paper tickets - you just bought a single through ticket to your destination on your first bus.

I discovered this when I visited the isle of wight back in may 2010