Bus cuts leave Moggerhanger workers 'stranded' in 'public transport desert'

A Moggerhanger resident argues that the replacement Grant Palmer bus service still leaves working villagers "stranded".

Dean Wakely told the Chronicle he has been “forced" to apply to Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC) to be rehoused, because there will be no bus that arrives early enough to take him to work.

It was announced last week that Grant Palmer would provide a replacement service for the Stagecoach 72/73 routes (due to end on October 30) but Dean says the solution is not good enough.

He claimed: "In regards to the new 72/73 route being provided by Grant Palmer, unfortunately while it will help some of our residents - who at least will still be able to get to a shop - the times for being able to get out and back are far from suitable for anyone that works.

"Those of us not only from my own village that I share a bus with every morning to get to work, which normally gets us into Biggleswade at around 6.45am, are still left stranded.

"The earliest we can get to Biggleswade is now 08:27 and the latest we can return home from Biggleswade is now 16:37.

"CBC were ensuring that students could get to college, but they obviously shared no consideration for the workers."

Dean now faces a 2.6 mile walk to Sandy train station, followed by a 1.8 mile walk to his job at the other end.

Julian Vaughan, Labour Parliamentary candidate for North East Bedfordshire, 2017 and 2019, said: "Yet again, Bedfordshire faces further cutbacks to its already threadbare public transport provision after Stagecoach is set to hand over the keys to its 72/73 route between Bedford, Sandy, Potton and Biggleswade.

"Central Bedfordshire Council ‘Bus Service Improvement Plan’, launched in October 2021 is in tatters as rural Bedfordshire risks becoming a public transport desert."

A Grant Palmer spokesman said: "The current service has been withdrawn by Stagecoach because they have advised it is no longer economic, with declining patronage post-Covid.

"We have stepped in at short notice at the request of CBC to avoid a situation where villages such as Moggerhanger are left with no bus service at all. We will be providing an hourly service through the village.

"We are sorry that the service will not meet this resident's needs, but the economic and staffing challenges are a reality which impact on all our decision making."

A CBC spokesman said: “The alternative bus service Grant Palmer is to run from the end of October are fully commercially operated routes that receive no subsidy or support from the council. The frequency and locations of the routes is decided by Grant Palmer, not the council.

"Once we have received confirmation of our Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding from the Department for Transport we may be able to look into enhancing the 72 and 73 services, which were identified as core routes in the plan.

"The new service will hopefully meet the needs of as many residents as possible, but we appreciate the new service timetable may not be suitable for everyone and would encourage anyone affected to feedback to Grant Palmer.

"Services can be developed and enhanced in the future if demand is there.”