First Bus and North Somerset Council working to tackle bus challenges
North Somerset Council and bus operator First Bus are acting to reassure bus users about work being undertaken to improve services and reliability in the local area.
Earlier this month, new commercial routes were introduced by First Bus, forming the largest change in bus services for years in the area. Some of these changes are being supported by North Somerset Council and are part of the council’s bus service improvement plan (BSIP), funded by the Department for Transport.
Following the introduction of the changes, First Bus has been impacted by a supply and maintenance issue with some of their fleet in the Weston depot, which has negatively affected customers over the last few weeks. This has led to service cancellations, delays and buses operating at capacity and unable to meet passenger demand. Bus services are also experiencing exceptional demand due to local rail engineering works.
North Somerset Council has raised these operational issues with First Bus and sought assurances about improvements being made to stabilise, recover and grow the network. This includes repairs to the bus fleet and bringing additional resources and vehicles to North Somerset to maintain reliability.
Some services are now the busiest they have ever been, meaning that buses are running with more capacity and higher frequencies. However, when issues arise, customers should contact First Bus directly, and inform the council. Visit tellfirstbus.com and go to Complaints about council services | North Somerset Council (n-somerset.gov.uk).
For more information about North Somerset Council’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, visit www.n-somerset.gov.uk/bsip.
Working in partnership, North Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority want to encourage everyone to ‘walk or wheel’ where possible, helping reach their carbon neutral goal by 2030. When that’s not possible, they want bus travel to be the first choice over car usage. Helping ease traffic congestion and a greener way to travel.