Dismay in Shropshire as more bus routes lost in region
Campaigners battling for better bus services in Shropshire have voiced their dismay after it emerged more than two-thirds of routes have been lost in the region.
Latest figures reveal the number of local bus routes in England has halved since 2011. The Labour party’s analysis found there were 8,781 routes in operation across the UK during the year to the end of March, compared with 17,394 in 2010/11.
The figures, published in annual reports by traffic commissioners, show more than 2,000 routes have been cut since 2021/22 alone.
Christine Lawrie, chairman of the Breton Park Residents Association, in Muxton, Telford, has been campaigning for more buses after seeing services reduced from four an hour to two an hour.
"All we have achieved in two years is getting an earlier bus at 9.15am," said Mrs Lawrie.
"Despite this, at term-time we have pictures of people standing up on the buses that we do have on."
She said there are problems with timetabling, communication and awareness when services change.
Councillor Alex Wagner has campaigned in Shrewsbury to enhance the number 11 service to the town's hospital but has seen the number 20 route to the south of the town merged in with other bus service reductions.
He said: "Shropshire has some of the worst bus services in the country, and even fighting for hugely important services like the 11 to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital can be difficult at times.
"More worrying still is that we are potentially weeks away from the new 'On-Demand' service replacing the 20, 544 and 546. The thousands of residents who live around Radbrook, Bayston Hill, Lyth Hill and Pulverbatch have good reason to be worried that their whole area's service is going to rely on an unproven and experimental scheme that is being put together in a rush.
"We absolutely need national change, but also local work can be done. It is no shock that people don't use buses when Shrewsbury Bus Station is damp, cold and ill taken care of, when the Park and Ride is scarcely promoted."
North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan, who has campaigned on rural routes, said that better bus routes need to be a priority.
She has also presented her ‘Bus Bill’ to Parliament as the number of services dwindle.
Ms Morgan said: “Market Drayton and Whitchurch are among the worst towns of their size in the whole country when it comes to bus provision, in the bottom tenth in England.
“Residents shouldn’t be forced to shell out for a taxi to get to medical appointments in nearby towns that have been on a bus route for most of the last 50 years.
“Nearly 3,000 North Shropshire residents signed our petition on better bus routes between major towns and through villages, it is a clear priority of local people that comes up on the doorstep constantly.”
