Bus cuts hit hard

MPs warn that the most vulnerable are being hit by cuts in bus services. We know that in Cranfield. The report comes out in the middle of the recess  (albeit the MPs are back for one day due to the riots) and sadly will soon be forgotten. The social background of train users is such that there is a fearsome row when service is poor but bus  users have almost no clout.







Radio 4 Today programme


BBC

Cuts to bus services in England are a threat to the most vulnerable people in society, a report by MPs says.

It says elderly and disabled people are being stopped from working, taking part in education or accessing healthcare. The government called the funding situation "challenging" but said it was closely monitoring the situation. Local authority budget cuts have affected subsidised services - such as rural routes - and pushed up fares, says the Transport Select Committee.


From the Independent 

Cuts in bus services will affect rural areas

By Peter Woodman, PA

Thursday, 11 August 2011

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The English bus industry is facing its greatest financial challenge for a generation, a report by MPs said today.

Funding changes by the Government have had an adverse impact on local bus services and the level of bus fares, the report by the House of Commons Transport Committee said.

The Government must not "wash its hands" of all responsibility for local bus services, the committee added.

The committee's report covered bus services in England, excluding London, in the light of the Government's 2010 spending review.

The report said the review had included three funding decisions which had "created the greatest financial challenge for the English bus industry for a generation".

The committee called on the Department for Transport to monitor the extent of bus service cutbacks and review service provision