Dozens of residents in the Suffolk villages of Walsham le Willows and Badwell Ash have been left without transport to college and hospital and work after the bus company said it was axeing its daily service to Bury St Edmunds next month.
Adrian Ramsay, the MP for Waveney Valley, has written to both the bus company and Suffolk County Council to urge them to find a solution.
Adrian said: “People rely on these bus services to get to college, to get to work and to meet vital appointments. I have written to Suffolk County Council and Simonds to challenge these cuts and to underline how vital it is that we retain our bus services in local villages.”
Councillor Richard Winch, who represents Walsham and Badwell Ash on Mid Suffolk District Council and has met residents from both villages, said: “There are numerous families without access to cars in Badwell Ash and Walsham Le Willows who all tell me they will be left with no way to get their children to college in Bury St Edmunds.”
“What are they supposed to do? Stop their courses? One resident has told me he will have to give up their job in Bury if this route is scrapped, and another resident tells me she needs the bus to meet medical appointments at the hospital.
“The bus company, Simonds, says that the route does not carry enough passengers to make it viable. But there is strong demand for the morning and late afternoon services which are the two that get students to and from college and people to and from work.
“Suffolk County Council is making a political decision not to intervene and subsidise this service. Over the years the council has drastically cut subsidies for our vital bus services in spite of the growth in housing in our villages.”
“Rural routes like these are not just a business, they are a vital public service and there comes a time when subsidy is needed.”
Update
Encouragement from Green councillors and MP Adrian Ramsay have helped to save the bus service for residents – but Suffolk County Council has only promised funding of the bus service through Walsham Le Willows until the end of December. Greens will continue to encourage the council for a long term solution for residents to get to and from college, hospital and to go shopping.
Suffolk County Council hands lifeline to under threat bus routes – BBC News
Key bus calling at villages between Diss and Bury St Edmunds saved… for now (suffolknews.co.uk)