Latest news with #JeffWells
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Backwell A370 bus lane plan to be reconsidered
A planned bus lane which caused "fear and anger" in a village is set to be reconsidered by the local Somerset Council planned to install the bus lane on the A370 through Backwell, which would have included moving a bus stop and removing a council committee meeting on 27 May, Jeff Wells of Backwell Residents Association said removing the railings would be "extremely dangerous."The council argued the new lane would reduce bus journey times between Bristol and Weston-super-Mare, but some councillors warned that spending £2.2m on the 206 metre-long bus lane was a waste of public funds. "Lack of information for Backwell has created suspicion and a lot of fear and anger," Mr Wells bus lane was proposed to run west along the A370 for 260 metres, up to the crossroads with Station Road/Dark Lane, the Local Democracy Reporting Service was on the council to withdraw the plans, Conservative councillor Michael Pryke compared the bus lane to the Clevedon Seafront debacle "but with a much higher chance of fatalities"."The scheme is prepared to put lives at risk, damage everything that works well, for a bus lane that will increase journey times at a huge financial cost to the public," he added. '£300k annual savings' Currently the X1 - North Somerset's most-used bus with 142,000 passengers a month - takes one hour 40 minutes to get from Weston-super-Mare to Bristol during the morning rush cabinet member for highways and transport Hannah Young said that with one bus running every 15 minutes, this meant 14 buses had to be in use to run the service in peak travelling said: "I don't believe that we can afford to let buses that people need just get stuck in traffic to a point where they become the last choice for everyone."If five minutes can be shaved off the round trip time along the A370 corridor, she said the route could be run with one fewer bus, saving the bus operator £300k a on the committee voted 6-2 to support the call-in and ask the council to reconsider the plans.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Duke, TECO customers will see higher bills starting this month to offset costs from hurricanes
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Starting this month, TECO and Duke customers will be paying more on their monthly bills. Both companies are trying to offset costs from the recent hurricanes. After hurricanes Helene and Milton, lineman deployed all over the Tampa Bay area to restore power. Now it's time for customers to help cover that cost. Duke and TECO customers will see around $20 added to their monthly bill for storm recovery. TECO customers will notice a 'Storm Restoration Charge' on their bills for the next 18 months. Duke customers will see a line item on their bills labeled 'SCRS' for the next 12 months. Customers like Jeff Wells aren't thrilled about an additional fee. 'I'd also like to know transparently where the money is going,' said Wells. In January, Florida Power and Light Power customers started seeing a $12 a month storm surcharge on their bills, which will last for a year. The company also just filed for approval of a rate increase starting in 2026. 'We've been able to keep customers bills will below the national average for more than a decade, but the grid is not something that we can just sit and forget. It takes continued to investment to reliably serve the growing state and that's what this plan is all about,' said FPL spokesperson Andrew Sutton. But is it too much? A new bill recently filed in Florida aims to cut down on the profits utility companies can make. 'As Floridians currently grapple with the rising inflation, and already the high cost of living, the extra burden of an increased electricity bill is only compounding that stress on households,' said Chante Jones, Associate State Director of Advocacy with AARP Florida. Jones said the extra fees and increases are having a negative effect on seniors. 'For older residents, they're already living on a fixed income, they're already you know, juggling prescription drug cost, and higher housing costs and so this just kind of compounds that right,' said Jones. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
