Letter: Telford bus service axe hits disabled and elderly

Letter: As councillor for Park Ward, Wellington, I am conducting a door-to-door survey of the Parklands area and North Road.

So far I have seen 18 people who are elderly and/or disabled whose quality of life has been seriously degraded by the loss of the bus service.

It costs at least £6 to hire a taxi to go to the hospital, the medical centre or to go shopping in Wellington.

Pensioners cannot afford this extra burden on their limited, fixed income.

I am informed most of the 48 pensioners in Apley Court (not my ward) are also taking this financial "hit".

I note the second priority of Telford & Wrekin's Local Transport Plan is "to allow everyone to access jobs, education, healthcare, shops and leisure"!

This is empty rhetoric. The reality is T&W have placed an extra stress on the budgets of many elderly people who were already living in quiet desperation on a low fixed income.

One can be certain, of course, that Telford & Wrekin will still expect these people to continue to pay local taxes for a vastly inferior service and this attack on their quality of life.

This is something local government officials can think of as they wait for a new, multi-million pound, luxury offices to be built.

Councillor Denis Allen

Tawpa

Park Ward