Falling numbers and road closures blamed for end of bus service

Falling numbers and road closures blamed for end of bus service

Friday, February 12, 2016

Bill James

A bus service along the Cumbrian coastline has been axed – with falling passenger numbers and constant road closures being blamed.

Wigton-based Reays coaches has confirmed that their number 60 service which runs from Skinburness through to Workington will end next month.

The firm says that the number of people using the service has been low and that repeated closures of the B5300 coast road between Silloth and Maryport has made running it no longer commercially viable.

Last month it was revealed that locals were angry at how often the road was closed because of problems with debris being washed ashore.

Business owners in Silloth and along the route have been critical of the highways authorities, claiming more needs to be done to keep the road open, or reopen it quicker. 

However, Cumbria County Council stated it is done in order to keep motorists and members of the public safe.

Reays has run the service since 2001 for the county council and continued to operate it when the authority pulled its route subsidy two years ago.

“However, passenger numbers have been low and the situation has deteriorated with the number of times the B5300 coast road has been closed unexpectedly because of flooding or storms,” a Reays spokesman said.

“This has resulted in many people finding alternative methods of making their journeys along this route.

“We introduced changes to the timetable in an attempt to attract more passengers but this did not have the required impact and regrettably we can no longer run this service on a commercial basis.”

Reays confirmed that the route will stop from March 26.

One of the people who will lose out is 71-year-old Joan Cape, who lives in Allonby. She has used the bus for the last 10 years, and usually gets on every other day.

She said: “It’s going to have a big effect, the nearest doctor is five miles away. I use it for appointments and to get to the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven. It’s my only way around unless I get a taxi or ask a friend for a lift, but you don’t always like doing that. It will be like losing my independence.”

Tony Markley

Silloth’s mayor Tony Markley said talks between local parish councils and the county council are taking place to try and find a solution.

Mr Markley, a former bus operator, used to run the service in the 1980s and 1990s with a 16-seat minibus before it was taken over by Stagecoach.

He said: “I think the situation needs a complete rethink and the community needs to come forward and say what they require. We need people to come forward with a plan and I’m happy to work with them on it. How do we get this to be viable and how do we secure some money for it?

“It needs to change, whether that be something like twice a week, we need to find out how we can change it.”

Mr Markley added he had been to several meetings - and has more planned - with other authorities affected by the cut, with a view to working out a plan.

The row over the state of the road and how often it’s closed is continuing.

Bill James, who runs the Bank Mill Visitor Centre on the coast road, said his business and a number of others along the route are suffering.

He said: “It’s simply not good enough to switch a light on saying ‘road closed’ and leave it on for an indefinite period hoping that motorists will observe and obey.

“Many people seeing a such a sign go elsewhere rather than the intended destination, when they know that the alternative routes are narrow, twisting and lead no-where making it difficult to find the desired destination.”

Mr James believes that around 70 per cent of Bank Mill’s customers come from the Maryport direction and when these signs are on possibly two-thirds go elsewhere.

He is now hoping to organise a public meeting so residents can raise their concerns with the relevant authorities.

CR:http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news