Passengers face travel disruption as bus services are scrapped around Bristol
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Passengers in Bristol are facing travel disruption as large numbers of bus services are being scrapped in the city.
Residents in Portishead and Yatton in North Somerset say they are being left 'stranded' and claim the buses are not fit for purpose.
People say that services that do show up are often late and no longer a cheap option for families.
The X5 from Portishead to Bristol was expected to be cut this month but has been extended until next April due to a public outcry.
However, First Bus have changed the route and the service no longer travels into Bristol. This means passengers need to change onto the X4 to get into the city, making the journey far longer and less convenient.
One resident told ITV News West Country that waiting for a bus is like a a 'lottery'. He said: "sometimes I've been here waiting an hour, sometimes for some people, it's even greater."
Another said: "The buses are in a total disarray. Post-Covid young people are trying to get to college or work in Bristol and failing.
"What is the company's strategy for sorting out their services? As a parent, I pay over £50 per month for an unreliable service. It needs to improve"
Lisa Screen, a local resident who started the campaign that ultimately delayed the closure of the X5 bus thinks the cuts to services come down to profit.
"It's all about money. They keep saying that they're not making enough money on the services they are providing and that's the reason for cutting them."
The X2 service which used to run from Yatton to Bristol was cancelled this month in a move that one person described as "absolutely disgusting".
"We as bus passengers, are taking the brunt of this, and are not receiving the proper public bus service that we should be.
"People turning up late for work, and students late for classes or lectures. I look forward to the day when bus services are taken out of the hands of private companies and handed completely to councils."
But First Bus say that both passenger and driver numbers have fallen since the pandemic. Services are seeing 25% fewer customers and so balancing the books has become a challenge.
Doug Claringbold, the managing director of the First West of England, says he's not in the business to disappoint customers.
"I'm never happy when I'm cancelling buses and we have to put together a liable timetable which I can operate. I would operate more buses if I had more buses"
"We come into this industry because we want to serve customers, we want to serve communities and that's what myself and my team want to do. The vast majority of our services continue to operate."
First Bus says the West of England is short of 200 bus drivers and this has forced them to cut services and change routes. Along with the Metro Mayor, they have launched a recruitment drive to encourage more drivers into the industry and solve the issue.
The West of England Mayor, Dan Norris, says he's investing a quarter of a million pounds to try and boost recruitment.
"For those people directly affected by bus cuts and changes and communities affected in the same way it is a big deal and I'm acutely aware of that.
"I lose sleep overnight on that, thinking about what I can possibly do and how it's impacting in a very meaningful way every day for thousands of people.
"That's exactly why this initiative has happened because the critical part of solving that is to get more bus drivers", he added.