Here’s everything we know about the strike that will bring chaos to Bristol
(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
Bus drivers have warned they will ‘bring Bristol to a standstill’ when they go on strike on Tuesday for four days during what is traditionally the busiest week on the roads of the city. More than 600 drivers with the Unite union have voted to strike over a pay offer from First Bus West of England.
The union warned the strike, which will last four days from Tuesday September 16 to Friday September 19, will ’cause severe disruption to services in inner-city Bristol and the surrounding area’. Bristol Live reported that First Bus is putting together an emergency timetable, but anticipates that buses will be down to just one an hour on all the regular routes.
Next week is one of the busiest, if not the busiest, in Bristol’s traffic calendar, and has often seen gridlock in recent years, even without industrial action. It’s the first full week for both universities, with more than 70,000 students adding to Bristol’s population and trying to navigate the city’s bus and public transport system. Added to that, the schools are back and it has always traditionally been the week where the autumn weather signals a decrease in the number of people walking or cycling to and from work.
Two of Bristol’s three First Bus depots voted to reject, while the other one accepted First’s offer. The depots which rejected it are Lawrence Hill and Hengrove, while the Marlborough Street depot, which is the city’s central Bus and Coach Station where First’s ‘Badgerline’ section is based, plans to work as normal. The Lawrence Hill and Hengrove depots are where all the regular bus services are based, as well as the Airport Bus service and the bespoke services taking people to Avonmouth to the Amazon distribution warehouse.
It means all the regular numbered services should experience severely reduced timetable, with one bus an hour between 7am and 7pm expected at best, and even fewer services, if any, after that.
First said the Metrobus services, as well as the ‘T’ and ‘Y’ buses from Thornbury and Yate, along with services around Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset will be unaffected, as their drivers are based at the Bus and Coach Station. However, Bristol Live understands there is a possibility that those drivers refuse to cross the picket lines at Lawrence Hill to retrieve those buses.
There had been a strike planned for September 4-8, but it was called off a few days before when First Bus put forward a revised pay offer. That has now been voted on by drivers, with two out of three depots rejecting it.
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“First Group is a very profitable company and can afford to come back with an improved offer that is acceptable to our bus drivers,” said Unite general secretary Sharon Graham. “Unite will fully support our members throughout their strike action, which has been caused by the employer putting profits over people.”
A spokesperson for Unite added: “First West of England is part of First Group PLC. Last year, First Group PLC had an operating profit of £204.3m and share dividends were increased by 45 per cent compared to the previous year. Strikes will take place from 16 to 19 September. This strike will bring Bristol to a standstill. Due to the number of drivers involved, industrial action will cause a lot of cancellations and delays to bus services, causing severe disruption to services in inner-city Bristol and the surrounding area.
Unite regional officer Ken Fish said there might still be time for the strike to be averted – but only if First come back with a fresh offer. “There is still an opportunity for First West of England to come back to the negotiating table to stop this disruptive strike action,” he added.
First Bus West of England boss Doug Claringbold described the offer that has just been rejected as the company’s ‘full and final’ offer.
“We are pleased to hear that our Badgerline colleagues have voted to accept our full and final pay offer, which has resulted in them calling off their planned strikes and helped reduce disruption to customers,” the managing director said.
Doug Claringbold, Managing Director for First West of England(Image: Western Daily Press)
“However, we are disappointed to be told that our Citylines colleagues have rejected the pay offer, and therefore their planned strikes for four days from Tuesday 16th to Friday 19th September inclusive will go ahead. We have put together revised timetables to reflect the much lower level of service that we will be able to operate on these days. Details of these will shortly be available on our website and we advise customers to check for updates before travelling.
“While this was our full and final pay offer, we still hope to find a solution with the trade union which encourages them to call off these disruptive strikes,” he added.