Urgent meeting called over dozens of ‘at risk’ subsidised bus routes

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.

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.

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 10 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 (May 26).

West of England Labour mayor Dan 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.

A letter from to Norris from the region’s council leaders 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 £20million and the 10 per cent increase for each of the three local authorities would mean an extra £409,000 for South Gloucestershire, just over £1million for Bristol and £530,000 for B&NES.

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