‘WE FEEL CUT OFF AND ISOLATED...’
Fears after changes to village bus service
VILLAGERS say they feel ‘cut off and isolated’ now a frequent bus service has been ‘severely reduced’.
They expresssed their concerns at this month’s meeting of Kingsley Parish Council.
Councillor James Aberley, chairman of the parish council, right, said: “As of September 25 the First Bus route stopped and D&G took over and the timetable altered, causing numerous complaints. There is no service at the weekend.
“The majority of complaints were about the frequency of the service and the lateness, which causes children to be late for school.
“It is a case of use it or lose it. We need two buses in the morning for the schoolchildren.
“This is not D&G’S fault. They do not have to put on a service. They get no subsidy from the county council to run this service. We also need to express our concerns to Staffordshire County Council.”
Speaking to councillors, one resident said: “We feel cut off and isolated. Some people don’t have a car and the bus service is a lifeline.” Whiston representative Councillor Elsie Fallows said she understood how people felt. She said: “Whiston and Foxt have no bus service at all. Residents have to book a community bus if they want to go anywhere. Old people can’t get out.”
Councillor Ivor Lucas said that his family ran a coach business in the area for 40 years. He said: “We ran a service, but it was poorly supported, we then had to remove it. Staffordshire County Council does not put any subsidies in anymore.
If this service does not work then they will take it off.
“We need to talk to D&G to see if we can have a better service, especially on Saturday and Sunday.”
One resident highlighted that pupils were late for school and many had to stand up all the way to Cheadle due to overcrowding.
Another said that Derbyshire had a ‘brilliant service’, but claimed Staffordshire County Council ‘does not offer as much subsidy to coach firms’.
One parishioner said she waited for a bus which was due at 9.45am and it never turned up. Another resident said that although they had a bus pass, people were willing to pay to keep the service going.
A representative from D&G, who was at the meeting, said it was a commercial route, but they were looking at reviewing the timetable. She promised to take back to the company the concerns of residents and Kingsley Parish Council.