Decision details

The supported evening bus service 267 is to be cancelled from April 2017.  Services will be replaced commercially on Fridays and Saturdays but the Council is offering a proportionate contribution to services on Monday-Thursday evenings only.

The Cabinet Member agrees that:

1. The Council should give notice to terminate the contract with First Somerset & Avon Ltd for evening bus service 267 operating between Bath and Frome.

2.  The Council should make a contribution of £2,250 towards the cost of retaining the service on Mondays to Thursdays provided that the balance of the cost is met by other local authorities along the route

The current level of usage by B&NES residents does not justify the level of subsidy required to maintain the service.

Somerset County Council have confirmed that they could not restore the contribution they previously made to the cost of the service

The proposal by First to provide commercial operation of the services on the busiest evenings of the week mitigates some of the adverse impacts of the cancellation of the contract.

The Council is prepared to offer a proportionate financial contribution towards the cost of retaining the Monday –Thursday evening service in line with the level of use of the services by B&NES residents.

The Council has considered the option of taking no action at the present time and leaving the issue to be considered by the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority at the time of expiry of the current contract in August 2019. This would mean that one of the savings for 2017-18 identified in the Strategic Review of Transport and assumed to have been made in the budget being transferred to WEMCA would not be delivered, requiring further savings from other services.