ShropshireLink alternatives taking shape
A range of locally-provided bus services will provide alternatives to the ShropshireLink service, which formally comes to an end on Saturday 5 October 2013.
Councillors decided not to renew the five-year contract for the ShropshireLink service because passenger numbers had fallen to the point where some buses were transporting just one passenger a day.
Figures show that a total of 300 individual passengers actually use the service each month, and 100 of those have access to an alternative means of transport.
Across the county less than an average of six people now typically use each ShropshireLink bus each day, which means taxpayers have to subsidise the service by about £2,000 every day.
Everyone who has previously registered for ShropshireLink has been sent a letter explaining why the service is being stopped, and what alternative services might look like.
Details are still being finalised, but the council is holding very positive talks with voluntary and community transport providers, through the Shropshire Community Transport Consortium, about expanding their services to provide alternatives to the ShropshireLink.
Local councillors are involved in coming up with specific local services for their area, to suit passenger demand and when alternative services are able to run.
ShropshireLink was only available in most areas on two days a week, and it is expected that the majority of replacement services will run one bus a week – but on the busiest day in each area; for example, perhaps to coincide with local market days where possible.
Anyone who travels on ShropshireLink using a concessionary fare will still be able to do so on any alternative services.
All registered ShropshireLink users will be written to again in the coming weeks when the details have been finalised for the alternative service in their area.
In the meantime, anyone with thoughts or suggestions about alternative provision in their area can contact the council by emailing customer.feedback@shropshire.gov.uk or calling 0345 678 9068.
Claire Wild, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways and transport, said:
“There is some great work going on to come up with local alternatives to ShropshireLink, which has been really positive. A task and finish group looked at public transport in a lot of detail over the past year, and concluded quite clearly that ShropshireLink was unsustainable.
“We appreciate that people who live in rural areas need some kind of public transport provision, and it’s our policy to give maximum support possible to rural areas. So what we are doing is working very hard to come up with the best alternatives using the existing voluntary and community transport networks.
“Shropshire has a lot of excellent independent groups providing vital bus services in rural areas, and we want to help them expand – both by helping them with staff support and topping up their finances where we can.
“I would appeal for people to be patient as the details are still being finalised, but we will be in touch with them again as soon as their local services are confirmed.”
Linda Cox, Chair of Shropshire Community Transport Consortium, said:
“We are happy to be working with Shropshire Council in exploring options for offering transport to former ShropshireLink users. Whilst acknowledging at the outset that any service offered will not be a like-for-like replacement for the ShropshireLink service, the Consortium, councillors and council officers are jointly looking at the countywide opportunities for service provision within existing locally-managed and operated community transport services.
“The nature of any future service provision will then be shaped both by the targets set by the council, and also local community transport operators’ capacities in terms of vehicle and volunteer availability.”
