Exeter emergency bus service meeting called

Councillors are 'swamped with complaints'

An emergency meeting has been called to discuss the “truly shocking state” of bus services in Exeter.

The city’s bus network has been hit with problems over the last few months, with a lack of drivers and a drop in passenger numbers leading to cancellations and reduced timetables.

Labour councillors have now requested an urgent meeting of the Exeter highways and traffic orders committee (HATOC) to address their concerns with bus operators, and to hear from local people, unions and campaigners.

Councillor Rob Hannaford, the group’s leader at Devon County Council, called for the meeting – the date of which will be announced soon.

He said it was: “in response to the truly shocking state of bus services in and around Exeter. We have all been swamped with complaints and concerns for months, and enough is enough!

“It’s entirely appropriate that we call an emergency formal meeting in response to this crisis, as thousands of passengers are having their journeys disrupted and delayed every single day.

“We are not blaming our local drivers or managers, as they are doing their best under impossible circumstances, but we do have a leadership role to play, including looking at new ways to deliver better bus services.”

Cllr Hannaford, who represents Exwick & St Thomas, added that privatisation and deregulation have: “failed our communities and left us with a broken market” and called for councils to have an increased control of services.

Speaking at the last HATOC meeting in January, Mike Watson, head of Stagecoach South West, cited inflation, a recent staff pay rise and a number of grants being cut as all putting the squeeze on finances.

As a result, he warned service levels “will almost certainly reduce,” but added the operator would try to avoid withdrawing entire routes and that any reductions would be done “sensitively” in consultation with the county council.

Leader of Exeter City Council Phil Bialyk (Labour, Exwick), himself a former bus driver, backed the meeting request: “It’s clear that something must be done to improve our local buses.

“Exeter is the economic hub of Devon, and our vision for a thriving growing sustainable city must include first class public transport that is fundamentally based on a reliable, affordable, accessible bus service.”

During the pandemic, the government’s Bus Recovery Grant helped operators keep services on the road. It was recently announced this would be extended for a further six months from April.

However, Devon County Council – the county’s transport authority – is yet to find out how much money it will receive.

On the service problems, a spokesperson for the council said last week: “We are aware of the impact the current shortage of bus drivers is having across Devon which is also a wider national issue.

“While new recruits are coming forward, operators inform us it can take at least 12 weeks to fully train a new member of staff.”

The Green Party also describes the problems in Exeter as a “crisis” and last week called for a London-style system where fares, ticketing, routes and timetables are managed by local authorities, instead of private companies.

In response, a spokesperson for Stagecoach said: “We are continuing to run over 90 per cent of our services as normal. As is the case with organisations across the country, we have seen an impact from the pandemic on staffing levels.

“Our teams are working very hard to continue running our planned services for customers. We have also significantly ramped up recruitment efforts to attract new staff to join our driving teams.

“Where there are some necessary changes to services, we continue to ensure customers are updated with as much notice as possible.”

They added: “Buses have a positive long-term future. They are central to government objectives around economic recovery, levelling up our regions and securing a net zero future for our country.

“We remain firmly committed to working with our local authority partners, who share responsibility for ensuring high quality bus networks, to maximise the opportunities ahead.”

Devon County Council says it has yet to hear from the government about whether its “ambitious” £34 million bus improvement plan, submitted at the end of October, has been successful.

The county’s proposals, developed in partnership with Devon’s bus companies, aim to make them cheaper to use, greener, more frequent and more reliable.

Also included are plans for regional zone tickets to simplify fares by working with neighbouring councils, and bringing in ‘young person’ tickets for 16 to 18 -year-olds – one of the age groups that rely on buses heavily.

However, it has been revealed that the national pot available to local authorities who submit improvement plans has been slashed from £3 billion to £1.4 billion.

Devon’s cabinet member for transport, Councillor Andrea Davis (Conservative, Combe Martin Rural) recently said: “To meet the ambitions of this plan we need a stable, attractive and affordable public transport network across the county to build on.”

A spokesperson added that while it was waiting to hear back on the bid: “in the meantime we remain committed to sustainable transport but appreciate the current difficulties operators are facing.”