News / public transport
Petition launched to ‘reclaim Bristol’s buses’
Campaigners gathered on College Green on Friday to celebrate the launch of a petition appealing to metro mayor Dan Norris to bring bus services back under public control.
More than 20 trade unions, charities, and environmental groups from across the West of England back the ‘Reclaim Our Buses’ petition, including the UNITE Southwest branch and the Trade Union council.
Campaigners said communities are “fed up” with the state of bus services and are unsure as to why Dan Norris isn’t using his authority to investigate bus franchising which would allow for the case to develop further.
is needed now More than ever
Emilia Melville from West of England Shared Transport and Active Travel Network told Bristol24/7: “Dan Norris is the only Labour metro mayor who hasn’t started the process of investigating bus franchising, even though the legislation already exists for this to happen.”
Campaigners held banners expressing their demands for fairer bus services
Frustration continues to grow as more bus routes are being cut across the west of England, with reports of elderly people being stranded in Somerset and youth in South Gloucestershire having lost their route to school.
Maria Carvalho, Reclaim our Buses campaigner, said: “Bus cutbacks continue to be a major concern for our members across Bristol. We have received dozens of comments underlining the frustration and anger with poor levels of service.”
Emilia told Bristol24/7 that organisations that help vulnerable people are suffering as a consequence of bus cuts.
“There are several organisations which provide independence for adults with learning difficulties and these adults aren’t able to get around alone anymore because of these cuts and aren’t able to use the bus routes.” she said.
“Buses are a really important part of the fabric of society,” she added.
“It’s really important for people who can’t afford a car or who can’t drive because of disabilities and if we’re going to solve climate change we need to get out of private cars.
“80 per cent of journeys need to be by active travel or by public transport and without a functioning bus network, we can’t do that.”
The Reclaim Our Buses campaign, composed of a broad coalition of residents and organisations from across the west of England, say that the obvious solution is to bring buses back under public control.
The launch of the most recent petition comes after years of campaigning by other campaign groups, alongside requests by campaigners to the WECA Committee to begin formally investigating the issue.
Bristol24/7 approached First Bus for comment.
Main photo: Edie Attridge
Read next:
- First Bus announces fare hike on same day birthday bus scheme begins
- Stranded passengers report more than 100 ‘ghost buses’ in Bristol last month
- New train station will impact bus and cycling routes
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