Bus service changes

The recent changes to local bus services in Long Ashton have sparked significant concern among residents and the Parish Council. The discontinuation of the X7 and X8 routes, along with the limited availability of the X9 service, has raised alarms about potential challenges for the community.

These bus services have long been vital for connecting Long Ashton to Bristol city centre and surrounding areas, serving commuters, school children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities. With fewer buses available, residents worry about the possibility of increased travel difficulties, including overcrowded buses, delays, and disruptions to work and school schedules. Concerns have been expressed about the alignment of bus schedules with school timetables. Families are apprehensive that the lack of reliable transport could add stress and logistical challenges, especially for students preparing for exams. Traffic congestion in Long Ashton remains an issue, and there are fears that reduced bus services may further encourage a shift from public transport to private cars.

Long Ashton Parish Council wrote to Sadik al-Hassan MP, North Somerset Council, and First Bus to express residents' concerns and advocate for a forward-thinking approach to public transport.

See the response below from Sadik al-Hassan MP:

"Thank you for contacting me about changes to bus services in our constituency. As I am sure you know, a huge number of constituents have contacted me with concerns, which is an indication of how serious this issue is for local residents.

I'm very sorry to hear the distress that this has obviously caused many, especially regarding school transport. Please see below the response from Christopher Heward, Team Manager for Public Transport Team, North Somerset Council, sent 21.04.2025.

'We appreciate that any change to bus provision can cause alarm, particularly when it comes to children travelling to and from school.

The bus network in North Somerset is predominantly a commercial one. Although we have been able to influence the network through tenders, formal partnership working and the DfT / BSIP grants, we do not have unlimited funding available. There are also limits to the amount of bus drivers and vehicle resources available to deliver services across the whole region reliably. We also need to be aware of any potential cliff-edge after BSIP funding ends in April 2026, coupled with only a 1-year guarantee of new bus funding from the Government.

For the April service change, we worked with bus operators to align capacity with overall passenger usage. The long-term ambition is to have as many services as possible on a firm commercial footing, at strong levels of frequency without a reliance on public funding.

Our BSIP (written in partnership with the West of England Combined Authority) includes a long-term ambition for the wider region that rural areas on inter-urban bus corridors, that have a population of between 3,000 and 10,000, should have 2-3 buses per hour.

To date, by virtue of the historic bus services through Long Ashton and the additional BSIP funding that has been available, the village has had the benefit of 4 buses an hour. The combined services creating this frequency have not generated enough passengers per hour to justify the continued public investment at the detriment of other communities.

However, based on feedback of users we have liaised with the operator to find targeted solutions. One of these is that First Bus are now diverting the first X7 of the day from Bristol through Long Ashton as an additional X7a. This will serve Angel Inn in Long Ashton at 07:32, serve stops in the village and through Backwell and arrive at Stock Way North in Nailsea at 08:04. An additional X7a in the afternoon in the opposite direction will also operate, leaving Link Road in Nailsea at 15:31.

Overall, we will continue to monitor the situation and work in partnership with bus operators to see what levels of service can be operated at a commercially-viable level, as we of course aspire for bus services to be as frequent as possible.

In that context, we are keen to hear more from residents as we prepare for the next set of service changes, which are due to take place from 31st August. We can then bring more residents' views to our negotiations with bus operators. We have a Travel Champions group made up of local bus users, which we're always keen for people to join (contact bsip.engagement@n-somerset.gov.uk). In addition, we plan to hold our next Bus Forums on Monday 19 May 2025 online via Teams and Wednesday 21 May 2025 at the Campus in Weston-super-Mare. Please keep an eye on North Somerset Council's Facebook page for further information closer to the time.'

I hope that provides some clarity on the situation, please feel free to get back in touch if you have further questions.

I welcome the government providing multi-year funding settlements to local government, so that local leaders can make long-term plans for transport in different areas. This is backed up by deepening regional devolution and schemes such as city region sustainable transport settlements. This will empower mayors to deliver infrastructure projects that will have transformative effects on transport based on their local priorities.

I am committed to promoting greener journeys, no matter how people choose to travel."