News / Transport
‘The only answer to Bristol’s bus woes is to give public transport proper priority’
Bristol is bucking the trend of declining bus travel, with the numbers of passengers up more than 40 per cent since 2009/10.
It is this fact that sparked the interest of MPs from the House of Commons’ Transport Committee, three of whom visited the city on Monday morning to see for themselves how the service is run and what challenges this increase in use poses.
As the politicians, along with First boss James Freeman and members of the press, filed onto a specially-chartered electric hybrid double decker at Temple Meads for a smooth, short journey to City Hall, it would be easy to assume that all is going swimmingly with Bristol public transport.
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But Freeman is the first to admit that’s not the case as he speaks of his frustration at the city’s severe congestion levels and argues the problem won’t be fixed until public transport is given proper priority on the roads.
The MPs arrive at Temple Meads
On board, Lilian Greenwood, Labour MP for Nottingham South and chair of the transport committee, along with Labour colleagues Grahame Morris, MP for Easington, and Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, claimed the back seat for the brief journey from Temple Meads, fielding interview questions en route.
The reason for their visit was to seek views on what is working well, the challenges different cities face, what can be done to improve bus services and how things should be run in the future – all to feed into a national inquiry into bus use in Britain.
Grahame, Lilian and Daniel at the back of the bus
“The purpose of the inquiry is to find out what are the barriers and what are the things that are helping,” said Greenwood.
“We are asking local authorities what they are doing to meet the objective of getting people out of their cars and on the bus. We want to know what continuing challenges there are as well.”
Under the devolved power of the West of England Combined Authority, the region now has the option to franchise its bus service – a matter that is the subject of hot debate.
Greenwood is seeking opinions on whether a system similar to that in London – where Transport for London governs how buses are run – would be something that could work in cities such as Bristol.
She continued: “We want to hear from the West of England how they have achieved the increase and what powers they have to address concerns.
“Our inquiry is looking into how services are provided outside London and how they can better meet the needs of communities in the heart of the city and beyond. Many factors impact bus use – congestion, competition, funding, pricing – and it will good to hear how Bristol is managing these.”
First boss James Freeman
Standing at the front of the bus, Freeman runs through the vehicles credentials – it use geo-fencing to determine the level of congestion in any area of the city and thus, whether to run on diesel. Bristol has two of only five in the country, with the other three buses operating in London.
He reiterates that blame for the delays, which make bus travel a nightmare for many commuters, lies firmly with the level of congestion on the roads.
“There is a disparity between the continuing growth and our ability to actually provide the services,” he said. “So the greatest frustration for me is that every day, our buses are held up in congestion across the region and we are completely hindered by that.
“We have put new services in and cannot deliver them. The only answer is: we have to afford public transport proper priority on the highways.”
As the bus pulled into the bus stop at the bottom of Park Street, the MPs and transport bosses headed into City Hall for meetings with city leaders, followed by a public question and answer session – the first of its kind held by the committee outside of Westminster.
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