Somerset communities are designing and running their own bus services. The services will better suit their needs, says the North Somerset Council.
The WEST service is part of a project focused on improving bus services for those that need them the most. North Somerset Council and West of England Combined Authority have set up a WEST local fund to run the services.
The first WEST local service in North Somerset is the Pioneer (P1) from Felton to Bristol connecting the villages Felton, Winford and Dundry to Bristol. Providing rural communities access to larger transport links such as Bristol Temple Meads and Parson Street Station, as well as Imperial Park and Broadmead shopping centres.
One local user commented: “Our daughter is able to get the bus home from school and often uses it to meet her friends. It’s the only public transport for the area she can use and feels safe doing so”.
Another user said: “I love the fact that I can now book a train from Temple Meads to coincide with the bus service. It works brilliantly!”
The Pioneer offers flexibility for users as it can deviate from the main route in certain areas on request, so people with accessibility concerns can be picked up and dropped off near their homes. This can be arranged by directly asking the driver or by booking a pickup with The Big Lemon before 4pm the day before.
To find out more about booking a pickup by the P1, visit thebiglemon.com/p1.
The West of England Rural Network applied to the WEST local scheme to create this route, with the support of Cllr Annemieke Waite, Executive Member for Climate, Waste and Sustainability at North Somerset Council, and route operator The Big Lemon. The P1 runs three return journeys from Monday to Friday. Single fares for the P1 are £2 for adults and £1 for children, with bus passes also accepted on the new service.
Cllr Hannah Young, Executive Member for Highways and Transport at North Somerset Council, said : “It is great to hear that residents are using the new WEST local service and that the route is making a difference to communities that are otherwise without wider transport links. Having local people design and run their own bus service allows it to be specially tailored to meet the needs of the community, and that’s what WEST local is all about”.
Cllr Annemieke Waite, Executive Member for Climate, Waste and Sustainability at North Somerset Council, said : “The P1 bus service was created to reduce isolation in our more rural areas. Residents now have an easy and reliable way to travel to Bristol for work or leisure by using the Pioneer, where previously this would not have been an option for many people. The bus also collects several children, who previously did not have home-to-school transport, from Backwell School in the afternoon, making a big difference for local families”.
Set up in collaboration with the West of England Combined Authority as part of the region’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), WEST local has established not-for-profit services with local transport operators. For route and timetable information, visit travelwest.info.
WEST local is funded through the Department for Transport’s Bus Service Improvement Plan. The project must be paid for using this funding secured from central Government. The funding cannot be used to pay for other council services e.g. other road improvements or additional services.
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