Proposal for free bus service scrapped
The one-year free bus service pilot was initially put forward as an amendment to next year's budget.
**Proposal for free bus service scrapped**
Stagecoach said any free bus service would have to be examined carefully to make sure there was enough capacity.
Plans for a free bus service in Guernsey will no longer be taken forward for next year’s budget, the deputies behind the idea have said.
Deputies Sally Rochester and Ross Le Brun had proposed the scheme as an amendment to the 2027 budget, asking the Policy and Resources Committee for £1.9m to “enable the existing public transport service” to be made free of charge in a one-year pilot.
They have now withdrawn the proposal after “concern from [operator] Stagecoach” that higher passenger numbers could leave some routes unable to handle the extra demand.
Rochester said she and Le Brun remained committed to working with the Environment and Infrastructure Committee to look at future plans.
She also said the pilot would not be possible if buses were “at capacity”.
Speaking to BBC Radio Guernsey, she said: “This amendment was all about supporting those in our community that are facing cost of living challenges.
“It was about delivering the transport strategy so you could have access to a free bus service - make their lives easier, make their lives better.
“Now we’re not going to be able to do that if the bus service is at capacity.”
She said the “logical conclusion is that we would need more buses” and that Stagecoach’s contract “would need to be expanded” to provide the extra capacity.
Rochester said these are “what we’ll be looking into and hopefully bringing this back some time in the future”.
A Stagecoach spokesperson said the company welcomed “any initiative that encourages more people to use public transport and recognise the potential benefits of making bus travel more accessible”.
However, it said it was important that “any proposal to introduce free bus travel is carefully considered to ensure that sufficient capacity is available across the network to accommodate the additional passenger demand such a scheme could generate”.
The company added: “Our priority is to ensure that bus services remain reliable, accessible and able to meet the needs of all passengers, particularly on routes that already experience high levels of demand.”
The proposal was one of 30 changes put forward to next year’s budget, which is due to be considered on Tuesday.
Other amendments include attempts to secure funding for States’ committees facing budget cuts, efforts to freeze fuel duty and cuts to overseas aid.