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Stranded passengers reported more than 100 cases of “ghost buses” in Bristol last month as part of a new citizen science project. Darren Jones, Labor MP for Bristol North West, is collecting evidence from constituents to prove promises made by bus bosses about improving reliability.

The bill asks bus passengers whose journeys start in the Bristol North West constituency to inform the MP if their journeys were on time, delayed or a service appears on an app or digital screen at a bus stop but never appears, what is known as a ghost bus.

First Bus, the city’s largest operator, has promised that many services will become more reliable from early April. Several major routes, including the 70, 73, 73, 75 and 76, should now see buses running more frequently, but the results remain to be seen.

Read more: Buses ‘will have higher priority’ over cars along four main routes into the city center

Jones said: “For as long as I can remember, issues with bus services have been one of the biggest local concerns for people. But looking at the black and white data coming in, even I am amazed at how badly Bristol’s bus network is ruined by ghost buses. How can we expect people to leave their cars at home if they can’t trust that the bus they are waiting for really exists?

In March the MP received a total of 109 reports of ghost buses. The citizen science project continues through April and May, and passengers are encouraged to log their bus journeys on the website: darren-jones.co.uk/bus. Bristol Live is also campaigning for Better Buses in Bristol.

Jones added: “I need the public’s help to collect the data that will show whether bus companies are held accountable, and it’s not too late for riders to start recording bus trips starting today. Nothing would make me happier than to find out that our bus reliability is moving in the right direction. But let’s see what the data reveals.”

Earlier this year, Doug Claringbold, managing director of First Bus in the west of England, said that services and reliability will improve from April. The company is running a major recruitment drive amid a severe driver shortage and said issues such as congestion can cause bus cancellations that are beyond the company’s control.

A First West of England spokesperson said: “New timetables have been introduced in Bristol this week, including more frequent buses on a number of services, using specialist scheduling software which we are sure will improve reliability. We saw significant improvements when we did the same earlier this year on Metrobus services, so we anticipate similar success across our Bristol network.

“Cancellations can occur for a variety of reasons due to problems with the road network that we cannot control. We continue to do our best to manage updates for our customers in dynamically changing situations and allow timely information to appear on our app and on real-time information (RTI) screens at bus stops.

“We are working closely with the Combined Authority to explore improvements to the way RTI screens are updated with the latest details of all services on our network.”

In February, Bristol Live launched a campaign to demand better buses for Bristol. We are saying enough. We’re demanding an end to the near-continuous cuts to buses in the city now, and for a longer-term solution, we’re asking Metro Mayor Dan Norris to get the ball rolling to regain control of buses in Bristol and create a franchise. system.