Bus Passengers Face Cuts and Fare Rises MPs warn
According to this article, bus passengers have been hit hard by changes which have left the industry facing the “greatest financial challenge for a generation” according to the Transport Select Committee.
To help plug the financial gap, the MPs called on the Government to impose a one-off charge for the bus pass which gives the elderly and disabled free off peak bus travel.
The MPs said that 70 per cent of councils have cut funding for bus services, with rural areas hit worst.
In the most extreme cases, councils have withdrawn all their subsidised bus services often without any consultation. “The evidence we received from bus users around the country demonstrates the anger and concern people feel about the impact of these decisions on their everyday lives.
This seems to me to another case of local government bearing the brunt of the criticism for a decision imposed on them in term of funding cuts by national government. I see it as a rallying call for rural communities to consider more innovative and in many cases non bus solutions to their transport needs. There is significant innovation out there in this regard and we need to consider how best to tap into it.