“WEEK in, week out I am hearing about buses that turn up very late or not at all” – these are the words of Cllr Claire Young, who has spoken out about transport problems facing residents in Yate, Chipping Sodbury and the surrounding villages. 

Issues have been highlighted about the 82 bus, which runs from Yate Shopping Centre to Southmead Hospital and is described as being “consistently late” by users of the service.

Chipping Sodbury resident Ian Muirhead, of Goldcrest Road, often uses the 82 service to travel to Southmead and has experienced a “whole series of problems” in recent months.

He told the Gazette: “I was heading home from Southmead Hospital with my wife early in February and the bus was 20 minutes late. 

“The problem is that it’s not an isolated incident - buses are frequently either not running, missing out whole sections of the route and even getting lost.

“Just yesterday I was speaking to a neighbour who waited an hour and a half for an 82 and ended up taking a taxi.”

Ian added that many of the buses on the route are in “poor repair”, with leaking roofs and ticket machines that do not work.

Complaints from Ian and other users have been raised to transport officials at South Gloucestershire council by Cllr Claire Young, who said that reliability is “hugely important” for users of the 82 service.

She said: “The bus is a vital link not just to Southmead but also to Parkway Station, UWE, further education colleges and the Mall.

“If people don’t feel they can rely on the service, they won’t use it at all, which would be disastrous for those who have no alternative.”

She added that residents are missing hospital appointments, getting warnings for being late at work and forking out “huge sums” for taxis.

Cllr Paul Hulbert, Chairman of the Community, Leisure and Environment Committee, heard about the issues at a meeting at Dodrington Parish Council last Wednesday.

He criticised bus provider First for treating the 82 bus as an “inconvenient afterthought” instead of a priority route. 

He told the Gazette: “This isn’t about leisure trips, it’s about people accessing vital health services and employment. 

“First have reduced services with the aim of making the route more reliable, but instead it’s getting worse because the bus company is using staff who are not familiar with the route, driving unreliable vehicles.”

A South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: "Despite adding an allowance for additional journey time in January during peak periods, the service is still subject to delays and we recognise that more needs to be done to address the issues.

"We are always looking to improve and have already listened to passenger feedback by introducing a later journey for those returning from the Mall at 8.30pm, this will be introduced from April 30, 2017."

A spokesman for First Bus said: "The company is doing what it can on the issues that are within its control to address relability and punctuality. 

"This doesn't change the fact that the operating environment is very challenging and the service is suffering immensely as a result of road works and congestion in North Bristol."