Cuts to bus services reach 'critical levels'
Cuts to bus services are reaching 'critical levels', according to a new report by the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT).
As many as 47 per cent of councils in England and Wales have reduced their support for buses in 2013, with another difficult year for services predicted in 2014/15.
In the West Midlands Centro, which subsidises public transport on behalf of councils, has launched a consultation on £14.6 million of proposed cuts.
The Ring and Ride for elderly and disabled people is facing funding being slashed while free train and tram travel for pensioners could be axed. A rally against cuts to the Ring and Ride service is being planned in Walsall next month.
The report by the CBT, entitled Buses In Crisis, is based on responses to Freedom of Information Act requests made to all local transport authorities regarding supported buses. It states three councils, Southend, Darlington and Hartlepool, have stopped supporting services, and others may follow.
Key findings in the report include £17m of cuts in the budget for support buses in England. Plans for cuts of £48m have already been announced for future years, with the likelihood of more to come, the authors of the report claim.
Counties making year-on-year cuts of more than 10 per cent to support for buses include Shropshire, Hertfordshire and Gloucestershire.
Around 47 per cent of local authorities have reduced their spending on supported bus provision this year. CBT public transport campaigner Martin Abrams said: "Cuts to bus services are now reaching critical levels. We have seen services lost year on year and with further deep cuts planned next year, some authorities may stop supporting buses altogether.
"They may not be as politically sexy as big transport projects but they make a significant difference to the economy, the environment and to wider society. It would be a disaster if whole networks were allowed to disappear."
Councillor Richard Worrall, Walsall lead member on the transport authority, said he was concerned more and more bus services will be lost.
He said: "As contracts come up for renewal they won't be renewed, you will lose the density of the existing network. It has been happening in rural areas over the last two to three years."
The report's recommendations include introducing minimum access standards and increasing patronage through the Government fully-funding concessionary travel for the young and old.