Written evidence from J Thompson (BUS
114)
I am writing to you as a signatory to the petition
to the House of Commons by my local Member of Parliament, Mr Iain
Wright.
The local primary bus services run by Stagecoach
have been withdrawn by 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday and all day on
Sunday on most routes. The result of this is that there is now
no bus service to the Hartlepool Hospital for evening visiting
and no access by direct bus to the North Tees Hospital and you
can't get home after reaching Hartlepool town centre. The villages
around town have no facilities for shopping, doctors or schools
within them. A number of non drivers live there and they are now
completely isolated or dependent upon the goodwill of neighbours.
The withdrawal of the service to Seaton Carew on a Sunday will
affect access to beaches, the RSPB reserve at Saltholme and the
businesses in the village which are heavily dependent upon visitors.
With no public transport available from the early
evenings the local theatre, cinema and social events will be affected
as will events within the Marina and on the Headland. Access to
the recent Tall Ships event was restricted to the outskirts of
town for the motorist and the bus services were overloaded. There
were evening events on all four days, but many people would have
been unable to support these, myself included. A return walk of
seven miles for me. Many people do not own a car or drive, or
are financially able to use a taxi for a "round trip"
to access those activities and events which enrich and add meaning
to their lives. We are living longer and we are not ready to shut
the door at 6.26 p.m., the last bus from my area. I use the buses
to attend two social groups one of which I have attended for 15
years and the other for four. My view is that if you wish to join
in activities you should be able to get to them independently
but a round trip by taxi will add between £9 and £10
for each occasion and as a pensioner on a limited budget I cannot
afford it. Whilst the government has not amended the concessionary
fare scheme, users have in effect been disenfranchised by the
withdrawal of services at 7 p.m. and on Sundays. I know from the
journeys that I use that a number of minimum wage employees working
unsocial hours are dependent on the buses. Can those employees
continue in employment if it means that they have to use a taxi
home from work? I think not.
The losers are the general public and employees of
the bus company and the service industries to the amenities within
the local area.
It concerns me that the people making the decision
to withdraw services and subsidies (a) do not live in the town/area
and (b) are not service users. Buses require a public service
licence but they are far from being run as a public service. If
the current situation is allowed to continue the bus company which
has the monopoly will have carte blanche to withdraw whatever
it deems unprofitable in the future.
I understand the restraints that have been placed
on council budgets and that a subsidy to a profit making organisation
is the first to go in preference to the unemployment of thousands
of Hartlepool people but there must be some better solution to
transport problems and the well being of bus users. This is not
only a Hartlepool problem. It exists wherever a bus company has
a monopoly and is in receipt of subsidies.
April 2011
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