Dear editor,
Please see below an open letter I have sent to David Boden, commercial director at Stagecoach East.
Dear Mr Boden,
I am writing to you in my role as the Borough Councillor for Kempston North – one of the wards most adversely affected by your company’s decision to axe the 53 and 53A bus services from 31 May.
Read: Bus cuts to hit Putnoe and Goldington as Stagecoach reshapes Bedford network
About 2,000 residents live within the Hillgrounds loop which will no longer be served by any of your routes and many of them have expressed anger and dismay at this news.
About 20% of people in this area are over the age of 65, and many say they rely on the 53 bus as a lifeline to visit shops in Kempston and Bedford Town Centres and to attend appointments, especially at South Wing Hospital.
Many are unable to walk to Bedford Road to access an alternative service and can’t afford to use taxis instead, so feel abandoned.
Read: Bedford bus company criticises planned service changes
Many students use the 53A to get to school or college. Their parents are worried about having to make alternative arrangements, especially partway through the educational year.
Read: Bedford Borough Council breaks silence on bus service changes
I’ve read the statement you sent to the press last week, which tried to put a positive spin on the changes you are making, but it is clear that your company is putting profit before passengers. I want to contest several of the assertions you made in that document:
- There has been ‘engagement with local Councillors’. Not true – I attended a session you held at Borough Hall before Easter where the presentation on the screen was so small it was mostly unreadable and you had obviously made your minds up about the changes you were going to make – that was NOT engagement.
- You have undertaken ‘independent research…with people in the local community’ and ‘it is important…bus services go where people want to travel, and at the time they want to travel.’ I am aware that many passengers completed your recent survey and told you exactly when and where they wanted to travel. The results of that survey have not been published – perhaps because it would show that you have not listened to them.
- The current service has ‘on average 0.1 passengers per trip.’ This statistic is very misleading and hard to believe. I live in the area and am out and about in Hillgrounds Road every day. There are almost always people waiting at the bus stops, and I am rarely passed by an empty bus (unless it’s a Sunday, because you’ve already cut that service). You may recall that I passed on a complaint from passengers that the 11am single-decker bus had been dangerously full on the Friday before Easter. I wonder if you’ve done a breakdown of passenger numbers on different sections of the route to see which parts would be sustainable?
- ‘More than 15% of our fleet is now electric.’ Unfortunately, you are about to undermine your green credentials by forcing those who choose to use public transport back into their cars.
- ‘…we’re deeply rooted in the communities we serve.’ But clearly not in this one, otherwise you would know how dependent the residents of Edward Arnold Court and Adamson Court are on this service. You would also be aware that this is a very short-sighted decision, given the planning application for 105 houses on the former Robert Bruce School site, which will expand the potential passenger base considerably.
- ‘It’s all part of our promise: we’ve got you.’ NO, YOU HAVEN’T, not unless you reverse this proposal or find a way of retaining at least some of the route, which residents and I genuinely hope you will consider.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Sue Oliver, Bedford Borough Councillor
Labour, Kempston North
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