Bath MP Wera Hobhouse, West of England Combined authority Mayor
, and B&NES Cabinet Member Cllr Sarah Warren have
committed to redoubling their efforts to stop the cuts to buses
in Bath imposed by the Government, following urgent discussions
held last Friday.
The meeting came after some of the planned cuts to bus services
were mitigated - The number 8 and the number 178. Whilst this is
good news, a warning was issued that the situation is dire.
All those attending the meeting agreed that bus services face a
further cliff edge in April when the Government will pull its Bus
Recovery Grant funding. Issues around the ongoing uncertainty
were raised and an agreement was made to keep pressuring the
Government to listen and act on the crisis they are
causing.
Commenting after the meeting said:
“I was pleased to discuss this issue with Dan and encouraged that
we could discuss a joint approach. Make no mistake, the
Government’s refusal to continue funding for bus services
suffering because of the pandemic and its rejection of the
passenger numbers here in Bath means local residents are missing
out on vital transport links. There is a cliff edge approaching
and the Government must step up and cover the shortfall.
“The Conservatives aren’t listening. The Conservatives have
engineered the bus driver shortage which has made the problem
worse. Now they are withdrawing already inadequate funding. It’s
their fault and they need to step up to the plate to deal with
their mess.”
Metro Mayor commented:
“We’re all agreed the government need to step up to the plate and
fund local bus services properly. Covid has caused a significant
drop in passenger numbers and so fare revenue as people take
social distancing precautions and follow the government’s own
health advice to work from home where possible. But that should
come alongside extra funding to keep buses on the roads. The West
of England Combined Authority, which I lead, is stepping in where
we can to help retain bus services – but there isn’t a limitless
pot of money and sadly we can’t help everywhere. Cross-party we
know it’s only the government who can sort this mess out.”
Cllr Sarah Warren said:
“We have been working hard with the West of England Combined
Authority and First Bus to minimise the impact of the proposed
cuts to bus services. Local services are still struggling and we
need this Government to open its eyes and listen to the concerns
that we are raising. They must continue funding the Bus Recovery
Grant or introduce a new funding scheme, to protect important bus
services across the region.”
ENDS
Notes to the Editors
-
The mitigations to the 8 and 178 service were reported
here
