Bristol Women’s Voice has written to First Bus’s managing director, Doug Claringbold, and West of England Mayor, Dan Norris, to raise concerns about the decision to cut the service and ask what consideration of equalities was given.
5th October 2022
Dear Mr. Claringbold,
I am writing to express Bristol Women’s Voice’s concern at the cancellation of the Number 5 bus, and we urge you to reinstate this service as a matter of priority.
The no. 5 route connects some of the most deprived areas of Bristol including St Pauls, Eastville, Fishponds, Oldbury Estate Court – which is in the most deprived 5% of the city.
Transport is a highly gendered and disability-related issue: what consideration of equalities was given before First Bus’s decision to cut this route?
Women make 33% more journeys by bus than men. They are more likely than men to have caring responsibilities that require them to make multiple journeys during a day, (e.g. to drop children off at school, care for an elderly parent and do the household food shopping).
The lack of public transport that meets women’s needs is a key cause of the gender pay gap: around 30% of women have no access to a car, particularly during the working day, because either they cannot afford one or the family car is used by their partner for work. This reduces women’s ability to access employment. The fact that women experience greater poverty than men, paying for alternatives to public transport (e.g. a car or taxi) is unrealistic, in addition to these options being in contrast to the city’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
The planned hourly alternative to the regular No. 5 bus is not sufficient – it will only exacerbate the difficulties of journeys to work via school or childcare drop-off and disproportionately impact some of Bristol’s poorest women’s ability to access employment. It also means there is no accessible means of travel for those with limited mobility in these communities.
We urge you to reinstate the bus service as a matter of priority.
Your sincerely,
Katy Taylor
Director
Bristol Women’s Voice
