Plans by Marlborough town council to provide a bus shelter on the south side of the High Street have been put on hold – because Wiltshire’s transport manager Phil Groocock has revealed that services are to suffer cutbacks.
Town clerk Shelley Parker told the council’s Amenities and Open Spaces Committee last night (Monday) of the pending route reductions and that she had also been told that there was no demand for a bus shelter near to the One Stop shop.
“We need to find out more about any new timetable and passenger numbers,” she said. “Three people at the stop were asked and said a shelter was not needed, though a passing cyclist said Yes to a shelter.”
The committee last year recommended the provision of a black-painted bus shelter, pointing out that the town had none despite being served by 12 individual bus routes.
The north side of the High Street already benefits from an all-cover bus stop outside Lloyds Bank, where there are benches for bus travellers.
Two estimates already obtained by the town council varied in price from £3,841 to £4,300, which would come out of the committee’s £15,000 budget for the coming year.
The committee decided to delay approval of the project until additional information is provided by Wiltshire and further public consultation is carried out.
The Campaign for Better Transport are urging Chancellor George Osborne to support rural bus services following a freedom of information request to the Department of Transport revealed that removing the Bus Services Operators Grant over nine years would save the Treasury £1.8 billion.
The grant is the funding that allows bus companies to run unprofitable services in sparsely populated rural and out-of-town areas.
