Mrs Hobhouse highlighted that the Western Traffic Area had lost 51 routes between 2021 and 2022 with a total of over 1,100 bus route losses nationally. Bath’s MP pointed to central government not giving local Councils the power to run their own services as the issue and asked the Minister to address this.
In response, Mr Holden said that the government was “prepared to consider different proposals”. He made no signal as to whether this would result in Councils being able to run their own bus services.
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesperson and MP for Bath, commented:
“The Conservatives are proving themselves to be completely exhausted and out of ideas. All they can now say is that they ‘are looking at options’. There is never a solution.
“This government has nothing left in the tank, and we desperately need a change. It can be guaranteed that whilst this clueless shambles lurches from crisis to crisis there will be no improvement in the services that really matter to my constituents.
“It is clear, with this lack of direction from central government, that local Councils should be given the ability to run bus services. They must be given these powers urgently or we will see more people cut off, without the transport they need to go about their daily lives.”
Looking at our local bus routes in the Somer Valley, the problems that have arisen due to central Government having the oversight, are stark.
Since April, the local area has lost the following services:
179 - Bath to Midsomer Norton
185 - Paulton to Trowbridge
668 - Peasedown St John to Bristol City Centre
575 - Combe Hay to Midsomer Norton
172 - Bath to Paulton
178 - Midsomer Norton to Brislington Park and Ride
754 - Hinton Blewett to Radstock
768 - Bath Bus Station to Radstock and Midsomer Norton
82 - Radstock to Paulton
Though the introduction of the WESTLink bus service came in around the same time, Metro Mayor Dan Norris continuously stressed that the service was not a replacement for the regular services.
In Issue No. 2,165 of The Journal, dated 25th January 2023, the Metro Mayor said, “WESTLink is not a replacement for supported buses. Government rules say I cannot spend the money being used for WESTLink on existing supported services”.
The purpose of the demand responsive transport, officially launched in April, was to provide a service to get people to the “main transport corridors”, where public transport is more readily available.
For our local Councillors, reinstating the original bus services are still at the forefront of the agenda. Just last week, in their letter of thanks to residents of Radstock, Labour and Co-operative Councillors Chris Dando and Lesley Mansell declared that they had set out “some areas that need immediate attention”, and the first on their list was the restoration of the number 82 bus and other supported services.
The removal of the 82 bus service has been a kick in the teeth for many local residents, and campaigns have been supported by local Councillors, such as the demonstration held on 21st February at the Guildhall in Bath, headed by Liz Hardman, B&NES (Labour) Councillor for Paulton.
Following on from this, B&NES (Labour) Councillor for Westfield called attention to a petition started by older residents in Issue No. 2,178, dated 26th April.
Dr Eleanor said, “These are the OAPs who will suffer from the loss of bus services - about 100-140 a day on the 82, not to mention the secondary school children in Midsomer Norton”.
The Journal is interested in hearing readers thoughts on this matter. Would you like to see local authorities have power over local public transport? Write your response for our letters column next week, sending your opinions to our email, [email protected]