Cuts to the number 37 bus

I have been concerned by reports of cuts to the 37 - instead of running every 15 minutes there will be one less bus per hour and it will be every 20 mins - my concern has been matched by emails sent to me from local bus users - see below.

Photo: Green party campaign in London

It seems several of our local bus services are being eroded just at a time when fuel prices are rising and we need to be tackling climate change. The busy and well-used no. 26 Stroud to Bussage service will be cut from a half-hourly to hourly service and the Saturday 256 Miserden to Stroud service could also face a cut. Already on this blog I have covered the cuts to the evening services of the 46 bus from Nailsworth to Cheltenham - that was partially saved - it has been cut for evenings during the week but at weekends it is saved for evenings but still may well be cut if numbers don't increase - these really are dire times for public transport when you also consider the state of our railways.

Anyway the no. 37 Stroud to Cashes Green is set to be reduced on Tuesday, May 27. The operator Stagecoach claims it gets insufficient money for concessionary bus fares from Stroud District Council. Sholto Thomas, Stagecoach West operations director, is quoted in the SNJ re the 37 and 26 services, saying the frequency of services was simply returning to those that were operating in 2004 adding that pensioners' welfare was not the company's concern but that of the local authorities: "We felt the amount they're giving us is unfair - we just about get half of the fare back. These two services predominantly carry people with passes, so we can't afford to run them as frequently as before."

A statement issued on behalf of all Gloucestershire district councils said authorities would not pay extra money without evidence that the amount is correct. It is unfair in the extreme for the company to threaten to cut these services because of this ongoing situation. There is no need to make these cuts - if Stagecoach does it will be for purely commercial reasons. Indeed nationally we read of the company doing very nicely and making nice profits out of the public purse - and let's be clear that is what they are set up to do - both Labour and Tories must take the blame for allowing this crazy situation to continue - see here re a call for a return to public ownership of buses.

I have already written to Cllr Stan Waddington at the County and to SDC raising these concerns - I will post jist of reply as a comment.

Locals comments

I have had several people contact me concerned by this reduced service - see below - I have also written to neighbouring District and County councillors and some Parish/Town councillors. And as regular blog readers will know I have had a fair bit of correspondence with the county over this issue - see letter in The Citizen last week here and previously re the 46 bus here. Plus of interest is a fascinating history of buses in Stroud here from my blog earlier - and talking of bus history I came across this local blog re buses stroudvalleys.co.uk. Anyway to those comments...

1. Comment left on my blog earlier:
Not related to this post but can you up date us on the 37 bus service. Is it being cut to every 20 mins as was in the press. While waiting another 5 mins in itself is not a great hardship it does mean greater pressure on this service as many passengers use it to get to paganhill from stroud and the bus is becoming congested. On tues day of this week while coming into stroud there were three youg woman with pushchairs on the bus one of which was forced to stand with her young children as the bus was full. This service is used quite heavily be the elderly and i would not like them having to stand because of the extra pressure on the service. Please can you leaise with your other local councillors to ensure that this service is not cut. I beleive there are a lot of discruntled users out there but who beleive complaining is pointless.

2. Email from resident in Cashes Green:
May I please add my voice to the appeals re buses 37 and 46. I use the 37 several times every week – quite often to go into Stroud more than once a day. Constantly grateful that it goes right into town during the day (have heart condition and struggle with the hills). The present 15-minute service is excellent – though it does thin out later in the day, and longer waits then become inevitable.

I entirely endorse others comments – during the daytime this service is heavily used by older people (like myself), and also by many young mothers with children including buggies. It is frequently very crowded. Over recent weeks I have twice been on the bus when a mother who had been waiting at the top of Paganhill Lane could not get on because there were already two buggies on the bus, and it was abundantly clear that she couldn't carry her sleeping toddler, a second child and the buggy itself (with necessary bags etc) onto the bus. The driver was curt in telling her to wait for the next one. If she had already been there for more than 15 minutes, the prospect of a further 20 minutes would have been very difficult for her. May I mention that there is nowhere to sit and no shelters at most of the bus stops on this route,

As to the cuts in no.46 – this has made the possibility of visiting friends in Painswick and Cranham in the evenings impossible for me. Nor can I any longer get to concerts or theatre in Cheltenham, as there is no means of getting home again; I certainly could not afford the taxi fare!Hoping these formerly good services can be maintained (name of person sending comment was given but I have not requested permission to publish).

3. Email to me (no address given):
I use 37 and 5 mins longer don't seem much but it can be late and if you just miss one it canbe already over 20 mins. Plus not enough bus shelters - especiallly fo the older people. It is not right (name of person sending comment was given but I have not requested permission to publish).

4. Comment emailed from local councillor:
I use the 37 on occassions when I do not walk or cycle into to town or have to use the car. By my casual observation most passengers seem to have bus passes or some sort. Thy could be mostly OAPs, some for benefits and maybe some season tickets but very few of the last. The problem that Stagecoach have is that it costs an amount to run the bus service and if the passengers are not paying the fare who does? It seems like another Labour Government trick, give all OAps buspasses and then leave someone else to pick the bill and blame the privatised bus companies when they cannot afford to run services without paying passengers! Or blame the underfunded Rural County Councils because the central govt grant does not cover all their statutory duties and they have been threatened with rate capping. Classic New Labour (name of person sending comment was given but I have not requested permission to publish).