Dear editor,
I’d like (if possible) for some attention to be brought to the rapidly declining bus service in and around the Bedford area.
I’d like to particularly highlight the Route 41 from Bedford to Northampton, which used to run until 18:10, but has recently been cut once again so that the last bus is at 17:10.
Naturally, this is a massive issue not just for me, but for dozens of others who relied on this bus to get home after work/school/college.
I am unfortunately not in a position to be able to drive at the moment, and solely relied on this particular bus to get home after work.
Now, I find myself in a tricky position where I have to either get a taxi or try and get a lift home.
It’s absolutely beyond me why the service would be cut further when this route was already infrequent as it was; the bus is always busy when I get on.
Wider problem
More broadly, I believe this is symptomatic of a much larger problem with bus services in the area.
Public transport is supposed to serve the public. Yet increasingly, it feels as though the needs of passengers and the communities that depend upon these services are being treated as secondary to commercial considerations.
A bus route is not simply another commercial product.
For many people, particularly those who cannot drive, it is an essential lifeline to employment, education, healthcare, shopping and social life.
When services are reduced, the consequences do not simply amount to an inconvenience. People can be left unable to get home from work, students can find themselves with no practical way of travelling home, and those without access to a car become increasingly isolated.
I understand cutting routes that are not financially viable, but I refuse to believe that the busy route in question was not worth running.
I would also like to highlight a similar occurrence several years ago when Stagecoach dropped all routes to Sandy and Biggleswade, but were mercifully taken over by Grant Palmer.
I would therefore urge our local representatives, councils and bus operators to take a serious look at the direction bus services in Bedfordshire are heading.
If we genuinely want people to use public transport, then we need a service that is reliable, frequent and actually accommodates the lives of the people who depend upon it.
Thank you for taking the time to consider this letter.
Kind regards,
Sam Clements
Turvey
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