'Use it or lose it' plea on Colne bus route (From Lancashire Telegraph)
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'Use it or lose it' plea on Colne bus route
9:00pm Monday 12th December 2011 in Colne
RESIDENTS living near a vital bus route in Pendle are being told to ‘use it or lose it’.
The number 16 service, which runs from Nelson to Colne via Barrowford, was saved last year when Pendle Council put cash towards it.
But its long-term future is back on the table after the county council revealed that it was still not sustainable once that cash runs out.
Now, councillors in Colne are urging people to use the service or risk being left without it.
Coun Tony Greaves said: “We have to try and get the usage up in various ways. We are very keen to keep this service going.
“We hoped to put this money in to top up the revenue to take it over the threshold, but the county council won’t accept that.
“There is a difference of opinion in the way the county council should operate on that, and I think they are being very mean about it.
“Had we been able to use it top it up then we it could have meant the service would run for many years.”
The county council said the service does not meet its revenue guidelines for financial support, which is for at least 40 per cent of the running costs to be met by bus fares.
Pendle Council had hoped that the money contributed to the service would take it over that level, but that has been rejected by the county council.
Coun Mike Calvert, who is also a county councillor, said: “The 40 per cent threshold is policy and they can’t make exception on that. We tried to use the section 106 money to put that up but the rules would not allow it.
“The service has to be sustainable so we have to try and get the numbers up, it is a case of use it or lose it, and a lot of people rely on the service.
“We are not talking a huge amount but it will require more usage to be sustainable.”
Councillors will now look at ways of promoting the service to try to get more users on it and achieve the 40 per cent threshold.
Comments(6)
tonygreaves
says...
9:31pm Mon 12 Dec 11
(I still think the County rules are unfair since they don't take account of the extra money that Pendle Council secured for the service.)
Tony Greaves
Pendlesider
says...
10:07pm Mon 12 Dec 11
.
unfortunately, throwing tax payers money at such a dormant service isn't sustainable and I disagree with commentor tonygreaves that we should foot the bill just to keep empty buses running on such a route.
.
The high price of fuel/diesel doesn't help and one wonders what happened to the coalition governments' commitment to reduce fuel duty to help alleviate the costs for bus/freight companies?
elfnsafety
says...
10:27pm Mon 12 Dec 11
Nothing new that Lib-Dems would like to spend even more of our money propping up unviable services. Hey-ho.
everywhere is sh1t
says...
8:53am Tue 13 Dec 11
everywhere is sh1t
says...
8:53am Tue 13 Dec 11
InterpolNYC says...
9:14pm Mon 12 Dec 11
They say 40% of the cost must be met by on bus revenue. Therefore, even if the bus was full, but all the passengers had free passes (OAP or Disabled) the service would still not meet the criteria. This criteria takes no account of social need.
I suspect LCC know their criteria is flawed-but it's saving money...