Rugby bus service will continue running until end of year while future is decided

A bus route in Rugby will continue to run until the end of the year while its future is decided.

Last week Stagecoach announced that it was withdrawing the 3A from the end of the month following a review of travel patterns with Warwickshire County Council. The company had said the route, which serves Newbold and Overslade, didn’t have sufficient usage to meet the costs of providing it.

Warwickshire County Council has today (Tuesday) stepped in to announce that it will be funding the service until the end of the year giving it more time to review the future of the route.

Councillor Wallace Redford, Portfolio Holder for Transport and Planning at Warwickshire County Council, said: “The County Council is committed to ensuring that our communities have access to public transport. We have stepped in to ensure that those communities served by the 3A are not isolated in the short term while we look at more sustainable options for the future.”

Mark Whitelocks Managing Director of Stagecoach Midlands said: “We are really pleased that on this occasion the County Council have been able to identify some funding to see the service continue until the end of the year.

“We engaged with county council officers as part of a review of the network following changes in travel patterns over the past two years. Regretfully the 3A was identified as a service that was no longer viable on a commercial basis. To protect the wider network we advised officers, county councillors and MPs of the changes we expected to make during a 4 week consultation period.

“As a consequence of that process Warwickshire County Council officers have been considering the impact of the withdrawal and the availability of funds to support its continuation. We are delighted that those living in Newbold and Overslade will have their service continue”.