New lAte buses to cinemA

Residents can get directly to and from the Showcase past 10pm

New late evening bus services to Showcase Cinema will begin running from the first Monday in October. A £100,000 investment from Peterborough City Council will enable Stagecoach to run buses direct from the Showcase i n Boongate back to Queensgate Bus Station from 10.47pm.

Currently, the last direct bus from the cinema to the bus station leaves at 1.50pm.

Thelast busgoingfromthe bus station to the Showcase will be at 10.30pm.

Thenewtimetablewillalso see later journeys to the city centre for some residents.

The money was agreed in the council’s 2016/17 budget after lobbying from Liberal Democrat councillors.

A cross- party working group of councillors has since been reviewing the bus services thecouncil currently subsidises.

Lib Dem group leader on the council, Cllr Nick Sandford, said: “It was the Liberal Democrats who were really pushing this.

“We give credit to [cabinet member] Cllr David Seaton. Wemadethecaseandhemade the funding available.”

Cllr Sandford said resi dents he represents i n Gunthorpe had been complaining that they could not get to the Werrington Centre and that services to Fengate needed improving.

Both of these routes will now see improved services.

In 2013, the council agreed to a £500,000 cutback to subsidised bus services in and around the city.

Cllr Irene Walsh, the council’s cabinet memberforcommunities and environment capital, said: “The extra money for bus services was one of a number of investments we made this year to improve services for residents and visitors.

“We asked a cross-party working group of councillors to review the services we currently subsidise andhowthey could be improved. The new services are the result of their recommendations.

“They will allow people to spend more time in our city centre which is great newsfor shops and restaurants.

“They will also give people better access to attractions such as the cinema and greyhound stadium in Fengate in the evenings and for workers in this area.

“These routes would be commercially unviable for a bus operator so I am pleased that we are able to subsidise them to ensure that residents have even better access to public transport.”

Full details of the routes will beannouncedinthecoming weeks by Stagecoach.

Showcase Cinema