Doubt over future of Westlink minibus service

Government funding for the dial-a-ride Westlink minibus service is set to expire in March 2026

There are doubts about the future of a bookable minibus service after it emerged trips have been costing up to £50 a passenger.

Westlink was introduced in 2023 by the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) after several regular bus routes were lost in the area.

The scheme has government funding until March, but will have to pay for itself for it to continue after that.

WECA mayor, Helen Godwin, said her team are "evaluating how best to keep people connected, improve these demand-responsive services, and ensure value for money".

David Redgewell said some have been taking advantage of the service, using it like "their own personal taxi service"

Passengers book trips on an app and are taken to existing bus routes for a £2 fare.

The service was set-up to run in areas of Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset in 2023.

However it has carried very few passengers and at points it has cost £40-£50 per passenger per trip to operate the service.

David Redgewell is a member of the South West Transport Network that campaigns for transport users in the region.

He has used the bus service and said often he is one of the only two people on the minibus.

He said the service has come down in cost and now works out at about "£14 per passenger, [which is] still a lot of money".

Roger French, who writes a bus and train blog, said the minibus service is "completely financially unsustainable".

Mayor Godwin said the contracted buses predated her time as mayor but she appreciates the "challenges of trying to fill the gaps in the commercial network".