THE Somerset Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) has been approved by Somerset County Council and is being submitted to the Government in a bid to secure a share of the £3 billion being offered to transport authorities to improve bus services.
But local campaign group the Somerset Bus Partnership has challenged the priorities of the council.
“Somerset is bidding for an ambitious £163million – reflecting the poor state of bus services across Somerset, due to years of neglect and under-funding,” says the group.
“The BSIP lists 23 priorities for allocation of funding, if the bid is successful, with Marketing as No.1, down to PSVAR (Public Service Vehicle Accessibility) as No 23. Development of cross border bus routes is ranked as 21st priority and this causes concern among local groups lobbying for a modal shift from car to buses.”
Somerset Bus Partnership Mendip representative, Peter Travis says, “Residents in Mendip will tell you their most important bus connections are from Mendip to Bath, Bristol and the Wiltshire towns. In other words, the cross-border bus routes! These routes are already some of the busiest bus routes in Somerset, and also offer the greatest potential for switching from car to bus. Cross border routes should be one of the top priorities, not 21st in a list of 23!”
If Somerset receives substantially less than the £163 million asked for, says the Somerset Bus Partnership group, then there is obvious concern that those low-ranked priorities will not receive funding and become lost in time.
The BSIP includes establishment of a Bus Advisory Board, and Somerset Bus Partnership is developing a network of bus representatives across Somerset, to ensure that bus users, along with transport operators and authorities, continue to inform and lobby Somerset County Council for changes and improvements to the Bus Service Improvement Plan.
• Somerset Bus Partnership was formed in April 2021 by bus passengers, councillors, campaigners and bus user groups in the Somerset County Council area including Frome and Villages Bus User Group (FAVBUG) in response to the Government’s Bus Strategy for England – BUS BACK BETTER.
For more information, visit www.somersetbuspartnership.co.uk
