Eleventh hour funding lifeline for 26 Leicestershire bus services …
Leicestershire County Council has paused a review into which bus services it should axe after receiving new funds. The authority[1] announced the review in February, saying it could no longer afford to keep the buses running[2].
All 26 of the services which were in the firing line are subsidised by the council because they have not traditionally been used by enough passengers for an operator to make money. The decision came as the authority was facing an £88 million hole in its budget[3] and needed to make £1 million worth of savings on bus services alone.
Services to Leicester, Loughborough[4], Market Harborough[5], Birstall, Syston, Thurmaston, Coalville[6], Melton and Measham were all being consider and first were expected cut as early as August. However, the council has now found out it is set to receive £1.78 million this year from the Government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus funding.
The Conservative-run council has said it will be pausing its bus review while it assesses how best to spend the money. Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet member for highways and transport, said it was an opportunity to “help the council better shape the public transport offer in rural areas”.
A petition to save one of the services, the 6/6a/7 between Burbage and Nuneaton, was launched by Hinckley[8] Liberal Democrat county councillor Michael Mullaney after residents reached out to him.
Hinckley resident Dawn Davies said: “This bus service is vital for our community. It’s needed so local residents can attend doctors appointments, go shopping, visit friends, and meet up socially. A lot of people don’t drive and can’t afford taxi fares, if you remove this bus service a lot of people will be left stranded and isolated, which will affect mental health.”
Coun Mullaney has called on the county council to scrap the review entirely. He said: “Many people in Hinckley use this service for shopping and medical appointments and other activities. Losing it would be a huge blow to them as many people don’t drive.
“Losing this service will also be a big loss for people in villages like Higham-on-the-Hill. We’ve seen with the recent scrapping of the 159 Hinckley to Coalville bus service how cutting these important bus services has a real negative impact on many peoples lives.
“While I welcome the pausing of the plans to scrap 26 bus services by the county council, I hope council bosses will listen and permanently drop plans to cut this and other essential bus services in the county.”
People in Leicestershire have already seen a number of cuts to relied-upon bus services and the council said these will not be reinstated. Arriva halted the X55 route between Hinckley and Leicester[9] in October, while Skylink also cancelled a number of Leicestershire services[10].
Kinchbus also faced criticism after it announced its buses between Loughborough and Leicester[11] would not be continuing past Sileby, with commuters from some villagers now having to travel to Loughborough[12], only to catch another bus into Leicester. And the 159 service between Hinckley and Coalville[13] was also scrapped after the county council halted funding, leaving some villages without the only bus that stopped in them.
A second round of the funding for the 2024/25 financial year will be announced later in the year.
The at-risk buses
- Service 3 – Tynedale Road – Loughborough
- 13 – Tuckers Road – Loughborough
- 22B – Leicester – Birstall (Saturday)
- 7 – Fenny Drayton – Measham
- 27 – Thurmaston – Loughborough
- 125 – Leicester – Coalville – Castle Donington
- 154 – Leicester – Loughborough
- 747 – Leicester – Uppingham
- 14 – Melton Mowbray Town Service – Queensway – Tamar Road
- 15 – Melton Mowbray Town Service – Dieppe Way
- 8 – Loughborough – Melton Mowbray
- 55 – Melton Mowbray – Grantham
- 56 – Melton Mowbray – Grantham
- 100 – Melton Mowbray – Syston
- 23 – Melton Mowbray – Bottesford
- 25 – Melton Mowbray – Stathern
- X6 – Bingham – Grantham via Muston
- 30 – Market Harborough – Southern Estate
- 33 – Market Harborough town service
- 44 – Fleckney – Market Harborough – Foxton
- 58 – Lutterworth – Market Harborough
- 129 – Ashby-de-la-Zouch – Loughborough
- 8 – Hinckley – Lutterworth
- X84 – Leicester – Lutterworth (Saturday only)
- 6/6A/7 – Burbage – Nuneaton
- X6 – Leicester – Coventry
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References
- ^ The authority (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ saying it could no longer afford to keep the buses running (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ was facing an £88 million hole in its budget (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Loughborough (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Market Harborough (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Coalville (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ More strikes means no trains to run from Leicester Railway Station on Saturday (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Hinckley (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ halted the X55 route between Hinckley and Leicester (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Skylink also cancelled a number of Leicestershire services (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ announced its buses between Loughborough and Leicester (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Loughborough (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ the 159 service between Hinckley and Coalville (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ newsletter here (data.reachplc.com)