Stepping in to Protect Rural Bus Services from Cuts Made Elsewhere!
As you have probably heard through the national media, a lot of Councils across the country are slashing their support for bus services, with rural routes in particular under severe threat. By contrast, here in Bedford Borough, where most rural routes are subsidised by the Council, we are working to protect residents' access to services and even improve them where possible. In the urban area, where services are run commercially by Stagecoach from Monday to Saturday, we have introduced a new Sunday service which mirrors the routes which run for the rest of the week and offers a vast improvement on the confusing, little-used routes which ran previously. With the rural buses, a range of difficulties have arisen due to the cuts of neighbouring authorities to their support for cross-boundary services. However, thanks to our extensive consultation with rural bus users and our close work with the bus operators, I'm pleased to say that we are doing all that we possibly can to make sure local residents don't miss out
