More than 2,000 residents have signed petitions reacting to “devastating cuts” to bus services across Bedford Borough, prompting a plea for cross-party unity at a full council meeting.
A joint motion brought forward by Labour and Liberal Democrat opposition groups called for immediate action to restore lost public transport lifelines to the Borough’s communities.
The motion, which combined three separate community petitions, was passed unanimously by councillors.
The successful motion calls on the Conservative executive to engage constructively with bus operators to establish a network built for resident need rather than pure commercial gain.
It asks for replacement services for cut routes and to work with local schools and colleges to get pupils back onto public transport instead of using private contractors.
Read: Letters: “Bedford buses are getting worse”
‘The biggest issue in 30 years’
Opposition councillors painted a bleak picture of the impact the cuts are having on local communities, particularly affecting residents in Hillgrounds, Martell Drive, Putnoe, Goldington, Shortstown, Brickhill, and De Parys.
Michael Headley (Liberal Democrat, Putnoe ward) explained that rumours of the cuts surfaced in February, but neither Stagecoach nor the council would engage with residents.
“When the plans were revealed, the impact was deeper and wider than originally feared,” cllr Headley said.
“Except for the pandemic, this is the biggest issue to hit the community of Putnoe in more than 30 years.”
Read: Bedford Borough Council breaks silence on bus service changes
Liberal Democrat leader, cllr Henry Vann (De Parys ward), added weight to the scale of the public backlash, noting: “The petition submitted by myself has 976 signatures on it, with 813 on the Putnoe one. We’re still hearing from residents about these issues.”
Labour’s Kempston North councillor, Sue Oliver, accused the council executive of suffering from “delay paralysis,” stating the issue could have been solved months ago.
Highlighting the 534 signatures on her own petition, she noted that number would have been higher if the borough’s online system wasn’t so difficult to navigate.
“There’s a great deal of distress, frustration, and anger among residents,” cllr Oliver told the meeting.
“Many say they relied on the 53 bus as a lifeline to visit shops and attend appointments. Some residents are unable to walk to Bedford Road to access an alternative service, and can’t afford to use taxis, so feel abandoned.”
Cllr Oliver revealed that alternative operators had tried to step in. “Both Grant Palmer and Uno put forward their own suggestions, all of which would have required a degree of funding from the council in the first instance at least,” she explained.
Read: Bedford bus company criticises planned service changes
The Debenhams debate and ‘political choices’
The debate quickly turned to the council’s spending priorities.
Cllr Oliver questioned how Bedford’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) allocation from the government had been spent, demanding the figures be made public.
She added: “Everyone is becoming used to hearing the phrase ‘there’s no money’.
“It was a political choice to buy the former Debenhams, then continue to spend about £350,000 annually to maintain an empty building, rather than financially supporting bus routes which would make such a difference to people’s everyday lives.”
Cllr Christine McHugh (Liberal Democrat, Goldington ward) also questioned why passenger data regarding the routes remained confidential.
Asking why the portfolio holder didn’t “create merry hell” over the figures, she added: “It should be the basis of a public discussion about the sort of network we want for our public transport.
“We should be able to tender for such a network that serves the needs of local residents.
“That doesn’t let the administration off the hook. The council should have been having more robust talks with Stagecoach, challenging the fact they were leaving these public transport black holes, and using the BSIP funding that was received to subsidise routes.”
Cllr Lucy Bywater (Green Party, Castle ward) warned that year-on-year cuts to frequency are the root of the problem, pointing the finger at the wider issue of privatisation.
“If a route isn’t profitable, it will come under threat sooner or later,” she said.
“A council like this one can only scrabble around to find the money in desperate circumstances to mitigate for a certain period.
“The joint motion isn’t much more than tinkering around the edges. We need to demand the end of privatisation; otherwise, we’ll have this conversation every year until the end of time.”
‘Consolation prize’ funding
Responding for the current Conservative administration, deputy mayor and representative for Great Denham, cllr Jim Weir, welcomed the cross-party look into improving services but defended the administration by pointing to a stark regional funding disparity.
Cllr Weir revealed that in a previous BSIP funding round, Luton Borough received £19.1m and Central Bedfordshire was given £3.7m.
“Bedford Borough got nothing,” he stated. “We were allocated a consolation prize of BSIP plus, which was £547,000.
“That’s the problem: we’ve had this lack of funding to enable us to afford to do it in a different way. I hope working with the DfT (Department for Transport), there’s some more funding coming through.
“Otherwise, we’ll have to look at the whole budgeting process and determine the priorities.”
Addressing past losses, Cllr Weir noted that when the previous administration faced bus cuts, noting there were five during its last two years, it was because of low passenger numbers.
“We couldn’t bring them back on. Two were switched and saved, but five were lost because of low use, and that’s what we’ve got now,” he told the meeting.
However, he concluded with a strong plea for unity to get the borough moving forward.
“I’d love to see more money going into bus services.
“They need to be improved. We, as an executive, have to do everything we can. I hope opposition members will join in that look into what we can do and support each other across parties to get this moving forward.”
by Euan Duncan
Local Democracy Reporter with additional reporting by Erica Roffe
