Frequency reductions, route changes and service withdrawals feature in the service changes by First West of England from 24 April, instigated as a result of staff shortages and low passenger numbers
First West of England is making a second raft of bus service changes across its operating area from 24 April. The FirstGroup operating company said that the changes reflect the need to temporarily reduce the frequency of some services to mitigate the impact of ongoing driver shortages and to address routes and journeys that, due to low passenger numbers, are not currently commercially viable.
The service revisions follow on from changes initially made on 30 January, when among a number of other changes, its Discover D1 service between Bath and Salisbury was shortened to Warminster, reducing the size of the firm’s operating area. Wiltshire Council stepped in and funded a replacement service numbered 24, operated by Beeline Coaches.
Since the first round of changes, local media has reported passengers waiting long periods of time for buses, or buses driving past stops because they are already full. The operator has responded to this by highlighting the difficulty in retaining and recruiting drivers in the Bristol area with Doug Claringbold, Managing Director of First West of England, telling Bristol Live that: “We’re pretty much at full employment now generally in society. With other things taken into account, in areas like ours there are more vacancies than people to fill them, and that’s a huge challenge.
“The whole HGV driver shortage last summer, autumn and into this winter had an impact on us, in terms of the number of people who were lured away from bus companies. The HGV companies were throwing money into their problem, and there’s some big numbers involved in terms of pay and packages that they were offering that we can’t possibly match or get close to.”
The latest raft of service changes on 24 April will see 54 bus services change, which excludes those also being made in the Weston-super-Mare area. Timetable changes will affect 22 services; eight will receive route changes, four will be withdrawn, five will see the service reduced in operating hours due to lack of use and 13 services will be reduced in frequency to every 20, 30 or 40 minutes. Only two services will see frequencies increased.
First said that the frequency reductions are a temporary measure whilst passenger numbers are still significantly below pre-pandemic levels and driver numbers are insufficient to reliably operate current service levels, and that it would look to reinstate higher frequencies when both of these conditions change. Bus users in Yate made their feelings known to the local press as local service Y2 is being withdrawn ‘as a result of low passenger numbers that pre-date the pandemic’ and service Y4 is being reduced in frequency to every 90 minutes instead of hourly and will no longer serve the town centre, instead terminating at the new park & ride site.
In Weston-super-Mare, Badgerline services 3 and 7 will have their Sunday service frequency reduced from every 30 to every 45 and every 60 minutes respectively. First said it hopes to be able to reinstate a 30-minute frequency on both services at the end of August, this being the next time for timetable changes agreed with North Somerset Council.
To further alleviate driver shortages, a number of early and late journeys that the operator said carry very few passengers will no longer operate on services 3, 7, X1, X6, X7 and X9.
In addition, normal seasonal changes will be made in the approach to the busier time of year for leisure routes, meaning that from 24 April, services 1 and 20 in Weston-super-Mare will see their Monday to Saturday frequency increase from every 60 minutes to every 30 minutes. The Sunday and Public Holiday services will also return from Easter Sunday, operating every 60 minutes.
Doug added: “Despite the Government extending emergency funding for another six months, ongoing issues with driver availability mean further action is necessary beyond the changes we made at the end of January to ensure we can operate services more reliably for our customers. As part of that, we have to ensure our resources are focused on the areas of the greatest need, which means we’ve had to act on those services and journeys that are just not commercially viable as we plan for the end of this funding in October.
“We only reduce or withdraw services as a very last resort and the issue with low passenger numbers and the resulting viability of some services pre-dates the pandemic and will not, therefore, be resolved by any recovery in passenger numbers. None of these were easy decisions but we need to make these adjustments to provide a reliable service overall for our customers so they can plan their routes with certainty. What we are effectively doing is building resilience into our network in and around Weston-super-Mare as we build back in the coming months and years.
“I want everyone to be clear that we are 100% committed to providing the very best possible public transport services in Weston-super-Mare and the rest of North Somerset and will continue to work closely with North Somerset Council to that end. This commitment is highlighted by the imminent roll-out of 27 brand new lower-emissions diesel buses in North Somerset and an ongoing driver recruitment campaign to ensure we get people where they want to go safely, efficiently and sustainably.”
As part of the package of service changes, and due to extremely low passenger numbers, First will also withdraw commercial Badgerline services 2, 4, 5 and 6 from 24 April. North Somerset Council said it is seeking alternative arrangements for tendering services to cover as many of the areas served by these routes as soon as possible and has announced the award of a new supported bus contract for Weston-super-Mare.
From 25 April Stagecoach West will be operating new service 50 which will run hourly from early morning to early evening Monday to Saturday between West Wick and Hutton via Weston-super-Mare town centre. The council is offering passengers free travel on the service for the first week of operation to encourage residents to give it a go and get back on the bus.
The route will be operated by Stagecoach West’s Bristol depot for an initial period of 18 months, with an option to extend depending on popularity. Councillor Don Davies, North Somerset Council’s Leader and executive member for public transport said: “Providing this service will enable members of our community to continue their journeys to access work, education, the hospital and other essential services. It will also provide a good connection to rail services from Weston town centre ensuring the continuation of sustainable travel options for many people.
“Without our intervention our biggest town would have had virtually no services for cross town journeys. I would like to record my thanks to the council staff and councillors who have enabled us to arrange this new service so quickly following the withdrawal announcement last month. This swift action will mean the new service can start without any delays. Bus usage has not yet recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, so my message to everyone is use it or lose it. We can’t commit to subsidising this service indefinitely.”
Rachel Geliamassi, Managing Director at Stagecoach West, said: “We are very pleased to be able to step in and keep the local community connected. It’s great that customers can trial our service for free during the first week and we hope to welcome many customers on board.”
