A BUS crisis is looming as routes are to be cut by private operators next Tuesday.

And Atherton councillor Joe Clarke claims the cost of replacing most of the local cut services would be £20,000, a figure which cannot be met by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority.

Cllr. Clarke, Chairman of the Authority, said: "We have very grave concerns. The bus network in Greater Manchester is being continually undermined by the narrow commercial concerns of bus operators."

He said the warnings 10 years-ago that would be caused by privatisation of bus routes is now being felt, with operators slashing routes and the Government expecting the taxpayer to pick up the bill, and this has brought the situation to crisis point.

He added: "We have had to battle to ensure the schools service we planned were in place for the start of the new term and the indications are that the difficulties we experienced this year will only worsen.

"What we are now seeing is the other side of the deregulation coin as competition is reduced, services are cut and the tender prices go up. When deregulation was forced upon us the Government claimed it would bring more and better bus services. Instead we saw wasteful duplication."

See 'Bus cuts: how they affect you'

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