I have had conversations with various stakeholders involved in our public transport network in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, one issue that kept coming up was the issue of insufficient numbers of bus drivers resulting in service cancellations and unreliability.
I met with Liam and Sara-Jane at SGS College WISE Campus to discuss the difficulties students are having with bus services. This is a serious issue for students as disruption to their public transport services causes equivalent disruption to their education.
I spoke in a debate secured by Luke Hall MP on train services across South Gloucestershire where I raised the planned new railway station on the YTL Filton airfield site. I was very pleased to hear Luke and the Minister expressing their support.
Today at Brabazon with the team from YTL we discussed the planned Brabazon station and was pleased to hear that constructive conversations have been taking place between the West of England Combined Authority, Network Rail and YTL which could see the project being completed in Autumn of 2025.
It was great to meet with Rachel, Martin, Karen and Joe from Stagecoach at their depot on Gypsy Patch Lane who were very enthusiastic about the prospects for their Bristol operations. They are planning to begin a full refurbishment of the site starting in early 2023.
Met with Doug Claringbold from First West of England who was receptive and understanding of my concerns surrounding service cancellations and reliability.
A very good meeting yesterday with West of England Combined Authority Mayor Dan Norris. We discussed the ongoing challenges with the bus services in the area, primarily driven by a lack of bus drivers.
