Bus row escalates

From today's Times and Citizen

http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/news/local/bedford/students_face_bus_nightmare_1_2929630

Students face bus nightmare

PUPILS travelling from Cranfield to school in Wootton by public transport will soon be forced to make two bus journeys after Stagecoach announced plans to axe the V1 service.

The Cranfield to Bedford service is set to be withdrawn from August 21, and concerns have been expressed that anyone travelling from Cranfield to Wootton by public transport will be forced to get two buses.

The V1 route will be split into the 52 service going from Cranfield to Marston to Bedford, and the route 53 Wootton to Bedford service.

Parent Rina Persaud has criticised the decision, saying her son who attends Wootton Upper School will now have make nearly a two-hour journey to get into school.

Mrs Persaud, who lives in Cranfield, said: “I can’t believe that they are going to be cutting this service.

“A lot of pupils at Wootton live in Cranfield and I think it’s awful that an already long bus journey is going to be split into two different services.

“Wootton prides itself on extra-curricular activities and it often holds revision classes after school, which means pupils miss the school bus and have to get public transport.

“My son is in sixth form and he studies drama, which means he sometimes has to stay later. And some days he only has one period, so has to get the public bus service.”

The changes to the service mean that anyone travelling from Cranfield to Wootton will need to get a bus to Bedford and then change and get another bus from Bedford to Wootton – a journey that could take up to two hours.

Mrs Persaud added: “I have been trying to fight this, and I thought Central Beds Council may offer some help – but when I spoke to them it seemed that they weren’t that bothered.”

Deputy executive member for sustainable communities services at Central Beds, Councillor Budge Wells, said: “All children from Cranfield and Marston Moretaine areas will still be able to travel to and from Wootton Upper School by means of the school bus services that Central Bedfordshire Council provides, during normal school hours.

“The council is concerned that this service change will impact on residents wishing to travel from Cranfield to Wootton, though recognises Stagecoach’s right to make changes to its commercial bus services, which the council does not subsidise.

“While the council would like to continue to support a commercial service under threat with a subsidy, in the current financial climate we are unable to do so.”

Stagecoach was unavailable to comment at the time of going to press.