Bus routes face biggest drop in country

Up to 26 bus routes across Leicestershire are facing the axe as Leicestershire County Council says it can no longer afford to help keep them running.

The services have all been subsidised by the council because they were not being used by enough passengers for an operator to make money. 

Ozzy O’Shea, the county councillor responsible for transport, said the subsidy for some routes varied from £40,000 to more than £200,000. 

One, the 154 between Leicester and Loughborough, costs the council £233,000 a year. 

“People are not using the services. If all the people who signed petitions used the bus, we would not be in this position. 

“They are not financially viable. You see buses going around with no-one on. 

“We need to look after the vulnerable, children and the elderly and we are really struggling with those budgets,” councillor O’Shea said. 

But he promised “no one would be left stranded” with an on-demand transport service being planned for vital journeys. 

Kinches number two now goes no further than Sileby leaving passengers in Cossington unable to get to Leicester.

According to data from the Department of Transport Leicestershire buses are being cut by 50 per cent. The distance buses travel in the county is to fall by the second largest amount in the country with the average 14 per cent.  

Leicestershire County Council has withdrawn the subsidies for route 159 linking Hinckley and Coalville. It is the last local bus service in the county run by Roberts Travel Group, which will continue to run Sunday services in Leicester, as well as the city’s park-&-ride network.  

The council said bus numbers have not returned to pre – pandemic levels although buses still account for nearly half of public transport journeys. 

Leicestershire had previously ended subsidies on Arriva X55 (Leicester – villages – Hinckley) last autumn, directing passengers to a new Fox Connect demand responsive service instead. The Department for Transport – backed Rural Mobility Fund initiative has received £1.3m for a three-year trial. The three minibuses are being run by National Express subsidiary Woods. It is unclear if the Fox Connect service area is to be extended to cover areas served by route 159.