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Good Society > Published by Guest, February 6th 2011 at 9:00 am

If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts

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By Alice Ridley of the Campaign for Better Transport

The Campaign for Better Transport launched its ‘Save Our Buses’ campaign this week in response to unprecedented cuts to council transport spending, which will leave many parts of the country without any form of public transport. The government said that spending cuts would be socially fair, but cuts to bus services will hit the poorest and most vulnerable hardest.

David-Cameron-Boris-Johnson-London-bus
Bus cuts are a false economy as any short-term savings will be outweighed by the long-term cost of a vastly depleted bus network. We believe bus cuts on this scale will actually hold back the economy, obstruct the delivery of other public services, reduce employment opportunities and magnify social problems.

Figures revealed by Save Our Buses show that 70 per cent of local authorities plan major cuts to their bus budgets, with some councils planning to cut all their supported bus services and 13 councils cutting support by more than £1m each. We collected data from every local authority in England to produce an interactive map showing bus cuts across the county. The map is part of a crowd sourcing project and we’re encouraging people to add the local cuts they know about to give a UK-wide picture.

Buses are vital to the economy and account for two-thirds of public transport journeys. A report we carried out for the RMT called Buses Matter showed that local bus networks provide a vital public service all over the country, linking people to amenities, shops, friends and family.

One group who will be particularly affected by cuts are those looking for work or to get training to help them find a job. Two-thirds of job seekers don’t have access to a car and will be cut off from any improvement in the economy if they no longer have a bus service – yet buses are now under threat on three fronts.

Cuts to local authority budgets, coupled with a reduction in the fuel subsidy bus operators receive and changes to the way central government reimburses operators for concessionary fares, have all created a perfect storm which threatens to sink the local bus network. Of course, these are challenging times for public services across the board, but politicians must consider the social, economic and environmental consequences of failing to protect our bus services.

The majority of councils are still deciding exactly where the axe will fall and there are some out there who are listening to local bus users and trying to find ways to minimise the negative impacts of cuts, rather than arbitrarily slashing services. So there is still hope out there; if enough people make enough noise about buses, councils might just have to start to listen.

  • http://twitter.com/falseecon/status/34176900465172480 False Economy

    RT @leftfootfwd If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88 #falseeconomy

  • http://twitter.com/dearskippy/status/34183150997344257 dear

    “@leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88” they're high on my save list!

  • http://twitter.com/susanbeck64/status/34189187590651904 Susan Beck

    RT @leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88

  • http://twitter.com/fatcharlesh/status/34189559403118592 Charles Holland

    RT @leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88

  • http://twitter.com/archi_typal/status/34190345637986305 archi typal

    RT @leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88

  • http://twitter.com/nikhild23/status/34190829212008448 nikhild23

    RT @leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88

  • http://twitter.com/double_karma/status/34207953640755200 Double.Karma

    RT @leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88

  • http://twitter.com/double_karma/status/34208048171982848 Double.Karma

    RT @FalseEcon: RT @leftfootfwd If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88 #falseeconomy

  • http://twitter.com/wayneburdett/status/34212530687578112 Wayne Burdett

    RT @leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88

  • http://twitter.com/ldtuc/status/34227780971544577 L DTUC

    RT @FalseEcon: RT @leftfootfwd If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88 #falseeconomy

  • http://twitter.com/innovate_space/status/34289447059070976 Gregg Fryman

    RT @leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88

  • http://www.innovatespace.co.uk Gregg Fryman

    The scope of public transport, in particular buses reaches far beyond the eyes of individual councils. From my point of view, a student studying in Leeds, commuting from warrington I rely on the buses to reach the train stations. Without that service I wouldnt be able to get to uni and improve my skills to allow myself to give back to the community and country the best that I can by getting qualifications! I commute financially
    It is not viable To live away from
    Home at the moment! This is a story that will be echoed around the UK with the rise in uni fees as people will no longer be able to afford to pay for both living away from home and pay the fees, so either one or neither will be the options! Forgive my rant but it really gets to me the detachment between the councils and the people that live under their influence! I’m
    Studying architecture at the moment and If anybody from a council is reading this, in particular warringon borough council, I can reccomend the book Cities for a Small Country by Richard Rogers! A strong case for how public transport underpins community and is one of the most important infrastructures for connecting people! If  cutting of buses is the only option I really hope that there is a feasible plan for replacement, maybe take precedent from other european cities?

  • Mr. Sensible

    Couldn’t agree more, Alice.

    Further to what you’re saying, there is also the impact of congestion as those that have cars resort back to using them.

    The government is missing an opportunity to persuade people that there is a public transport alternative with increases to train fares and bus cuts.

  • http://twitter.com/staffsunison/status/34404147419680768 Staffordshire UNISON

    RT @FalseEcon: RT @leftfootfwd If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88 #falseeconomy

  • http://twitter.com/gigipita/status/36515227864399872 gigipita

    RT @dearskippy: “@leftfootfwd: If enough people speak out, councils may have to think again on bus cuts: http://bit.ly/fFPV88” they're h …

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