A “gimmick” cake baked to promote the birthday buses scheme and then fed to journalists and a dog cost taxpayers £120. While parents of pupils at a rural school are told “there is no money” for buses to get their children there safely, there appears to be plenty of money for cake.
The birthday buses scheme was relaunched this month, and announced in October. Residents in the West of England can get a pass giving them free bus journeys for the month their birthday falls in, as part of a wider push to get more people in the habit of using public transport instead of driving.
During the announcement in October, Dan Norris, the Labour mayor of the West of England, fed some of the cake to Angel, his dog, who appears alongside him in many promotional materials. The dog was also featured on the unlawfully giant picture of the mayor on the side of a bus.
Councillor Sam Bromiley, leader of the Conservative group on South Gloucestershire Council, said: “Yet again the current WECA mayor has shown how out of touch he is with local residents. Most people in the West of England wouldn’t dream of spending £120 on a birthday cake.
“But Dan Norris hasn’t batted an eyelid at spending it on a cake that was intended solely as a marketing gimmick. The birthday bus pass scheme has been marred in controversy from the start and this latest revelation only adds to the WECA mayor’s dismal record.”
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The cost of the vanilla cake with buttercream, baked in the shape of a bus, was revealed after a freedom of information request. The revelation comes amid an ongoing row over who should fund unprofitable buses, with neither local councils nor the West of England Combined Authority willing to shoulder the costs.
Last month, parents of children at Winterbourne Academy repeated their plea for help to get pupils there safely. The high school, just north of Bristol, is difficult to reach on foot without walking along hazardous roads. They were previously told there is a lack of cash for buses.
Steve Smith, the Conservative Party candidate at next year’s West of England mayoral elections, added: “It’s absolutely breathtaking that Dan Norris spent £120 of public money on a birthday cake to advertise his wasteful bus pass gimmick. The mayor has wasted far bigger sums before, like £10,000 to put his face on the side of a bus.
“But this is a perfect example of his willingness to waste public money on gimmicks and marketing ploys. If I’m elected as mayor for the West of England, I will stop the gimmicks.
“Ending the birthday bus pass, bringing back axed routes and reinvesting the money into driving down the cost of bus fares, which this Labour government, supported by the current Labour mayor, are driving up from £2 for a single trip to £3 — that’s a 50 per cent increase for a return journey.”
However, the birthday bus scheme has proved incredibly popular so far, with 1.2 million journeys in its first year. Auditors from KPMG found a benefit of almost £5 million to the region, over double what’s been spent so far.
A West of England source said: “I may not be an accountant, but assuming the same impact in the current year of the initiative, £120 of marketing spend either way would not materially impact such a solid conclusion.”
Auditors also found that people saved on average almost £40 each using their pass. 72,000 people across the region have signed up for one, and 80 per cent say they drove less and got the bus more often. 1,100 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions were also cut, due to the scheme.
On Monday, December 2, 3,000 free journeys were taken by pass holders, according to the mayor. The cake was also featured on “every local TV news channel, radio station and across online and print media”, according to the combined authority, costing “circa 0.003 per cent of the project budget”.
Mr Norris said: “This year, birthday bus pass-holders have access to exclusive offers at some of the West of England’s very best attractions and businesses — with even more coming soon. Some brilliant local businesses are taking part, so be sure to take a look on birthdaybus.co.uk when signing up for your free month of bus travel. Many happy returns — and singles!”
Brunel’s SS Great Britain, in Bristol, is one attraction taking part. The “iconic” ship is offering pass holders a quarter off their whole party’s tickets. Other attractions include Aerospace Bristol, Bath Aqua Glass, Big Bao, Krater Comedy Club, the Swan, and Wake the Tiger.