[The WECA Mayor with council leaders – photo – credit: West of England Mayoral Combined Authority / Freia Turland.]
The continued investment in our bus services is a subject that’s going to be discussed in detail later this month.
Bus fare offers such as the child fare cap, free travel for care leavers until they turn 25, and Kids Go Free are set to continue, to further embed sustainable travel choices for people and support families, in plans before the Mayor and council leaders at their next meeting on 30 January.
These proposals follow the success of the return of Kids Go Free over the Christmas school holidays, which sawchildren’s journeys increase by more than 50% compared to the same period in the previous year.
During the summer, when Kids Go Free was first introduced, children’s journeys increased by 32% compared to the previous year.
The £42.4 million three-year Bus Grant from the UK Government’s Department for Transport is set to include:
- £28.2 million for bus services, including supported services
- £9.9 million for fares and ticketing initiatives
- £1 million for passenger experience, including real-time information and safety initiatives – particularly for women and girls
By the end of this month, £1 million of improvements from a previous funding allocation will see the remainder of some 250 new information screens installed at bus stops, bus stations, hospitals, and other places in the West to help continue building a network that local people can rely on.
The first 129 new green buses are already on our region’s roads, with another 160 on the way this year, alongside infrastructure improvements to continue electrifying the bus fleet at First Bus depots in Bath, Lawrence Hill, and Hengrove.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
“Together, we are making real progress towards a bus network that works and which people can rely on. New buses, new services, and new information screens are just the start.
“Kids Go Free has already seen 1.1 million free bus journeys for under-16s over the summer and Christmas school holidays, with many people noticing more of a difference from our regional authority during those nine weeks than the last nine years.
“Next month, as we continue building momentum for our region, we will share our Transport Vision. This will set out our direction of travel, with £752 million already secured from the government to invest in getting the West moving.”
Councillor Kevin Guy, Deputy Mayor and Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council, said:
“Electrifying our bus fleet is a vital step in tackling the climate emergency and improving everyday travel in Bath & North East Somerset. Incentives like Kids Go Free are helping families choose sustainable travel and explore the region.
“We’ll keep working with the Mayor and our partners – and I encourage everyone to take part in the upcoming Bus Plan consultation so we can shape a network that truly serves our communities.”
Meanwhile, work continues to evaluate the full range of bus reform options, including potential franchising models and enhancements to the existing Enhanced Partnership with bus operators, after the Bus Services Act became law late last year.
A Bus Plan is being developed for public consultation in the coming months, for local people to feed into how together the regional authority, councils, and bus operators can build a network that works across the West.
A review of the Transport Levy, which has not changed since its introduction and is due to see a £1.6 million uplift for the coming financial year, is also set to take place in partnership with North Somerset.
Separately, the two-year trial of most WESTlocal community-led bus services is set to be extended by four months, beyond its initial April end-date, until the end of the July school term, including the Y8 loop from Yate through South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire and the K1 in Keynsham.
This will enable a review and assessment of service performance, looking at what has worked best and how a future network might utilise and reform WESTlink, a demand-responsive transport (DRT) system.
Options in rural and suburban areas could see more bus services like the 768, which connects villages south of Bath to the city with a semi-fixed route service that guarantees timetabled services during peak times while also serving passengers through demand-responsive transport.
The birthday-related bus scheme in the West of England came to an end late last year, with no plans to continue it after a fall in the number of new users and wider increased pressures on funding.
I wrote to the West of England Mayor on the subject of buses at traffic lights and despite a reminder, have never had the courtesy of a repl. Very disappointed, if no photo opportunity is involved.
I felt the birthday-month free bus travel scheme discriminated against those of us with birthdays in February, who had fewer days when they could use it!