Bus bosses accused of placing ‘profits before passengers’ MPs slam transport authority in Commons after closure of 60 bus stops in the region
BUS managers have been accused of putting profits before the needs of passengers following the closure of nearly 60 bus stops in Birmingham.
MPs condemned the decision in the House of Commons and said that elderly people, mothers with young children and disabled people would be particularly hard hit.
An official Commons motion drawn up by Birmingham Hall Green Labour MP Roger Godsiff read: “This House deplores the decision by Transport for West Midlands to remove over 50 bus stops from October 1, 2017.”
Transport for West Midlands, which oversees the region’s bus network, has closed the bus stops for a six-month test to see how it affects services.
It argues there are some stops located just 130 yards apart, while others have fallen into disuse as busi- nesses have closed or shopping habits changed.
And it says the changes will speed up journeys for passengers as it is estimated each stop adds at least 35 seconds to a journey.
But the MPs said: “Transport for West Midlands’ own equality risk assessment identified that the closure of these bus stops would have a negative impact on many vulnerable groups including elderly people, mothers with young children and disabled people.”
And they said they deplored “the fact that Transport for West Midlands ignored this analysis and determined that profit was more important than people’s convenience.”
MPs also claimed local councillors had not been consulted properly.
The 59 stops being dropped are along a number of routes in south Birmingham: 8a/8c (Inner Circle), 50 (Alcester Road), 45/47 (Pershore Road) and 63 (Bristol Road).
Laura Shoaf, managing director of Transport for West Midlands, said: “This is a trial scheme running until March next year and which aims to improve reliability for passengers by speeding up journey times through the suspension of little-used bus stops.
“Our policy is for people living within the West Midlands metropolitan area to be within 400 metres of a served bus stop, a rule which applies to 90 per cent of the network in the region. However, over the years some stops have become as close as 130m apart. These short distances can have an adverse effect on journey times.
“This trial will help us balance our passengers’ need for bus stops that are easy to get to with bus journeys that get them where they want to get to on time.”