The region’s transport authority has been urged to speed up the “glacial pace” of its bus strategy and use its new powers to fix Bristol and Bath’s bus services.

City leaders and campaigners demanded urgent action, as the West of England Combined Authority met to agree on an £8.9 billion draft transport plan for the region.

The ambitious plan, set for public consultation in January, sets out a wish list of projects, including possible underground rail links, seven new MetroBus routes, and better cycling and walking routes. But, if approved, most of the projects would not be completed before 2026 or 2036, and many residents are impatient for change.

Julie Boston told WECA’s leaders she campaigned for an “affordable, reliable, accessible, accountable, integrated” bus service four years ago, and had recently joined a rally for better bus services in Bristol. She said: “We want WECA to take action using the new Government powers.”

In theory, the combined authority has the legal power to create a new bus franchise system, which would allow local Councils to dictate the routes and timetables of commercial bus services. But a spokesman for WECA said it will not have the operational capacity to act as the regional transport authority until the right expertise is transferred from its member local authorities.

WECA was set up in February 2017 to support regional cooperation on major issues, such as transport and housing in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset. North Somerset Council chose not to join.

Seasoned transport campaigner, David Redgewell, told WECA leaders it was high time they took charge of the bus network. “This is the transport authority, it needs to function like one,” he said at a committee meeting of the combined authority.

Green Councillor for Redland, Martin Fodor, said the matter was urgent: “We’ve got people who are switching back to cars when they find buses unreliable, when they find cycle routes aren’t safe and they find their pedestrian journey is blocked.”

“I urge you and the combined authority to actually use the powers that you now have: not just talk about it, not just say ‘we have a transport plan; some time, something will be done’. Please start using those powers.”

The Chair of WECA’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Bristol Councillor, Stephen Clarke, said the committee believes WECA should produce a bus strategy “as quickly as possible”.

Conservative Councillor for Lyncombe, Mark Shelford, Cabinet Member for Transport for Bath & North East Somerset Council, added: “There’s growing frustration within the constituent Councils of the glacial pace of the development of our bus strategy.”

The draft transport plan for the West of England includes plans to expand and improve existing bus networks but makes little mention of a bus franchise system.

Leader of B&NES Council, Tim Warren, said he was “delighted” by the new transport plan, but was also frustrated by the time it was taking for WECA to take on its new transport functions. He said: “This is a huge part of the West of England Combined Authority, and we really need to move as fast as we possibly can with this and get the right outcome.”

He sought confirmation from Metro Mayor, Tim Bowles, who heads WECA, that a new railway station for Saltford would not be abandoned. Mr Bowles said he supported a new station at Saltford and thanked everyone for their input.

The draft Joint Local Transport Plan 2019–2036 was agreed by members of the WECA committee shortly before it was endorsed by the West of England Joint committee. The plan is set to go out to public consultation this month and a final plan is expected to be endorsed in early summer 2019.

Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter