Buses under the axe in latest cuts

Warwickshire County Council will no longer pay bus companies to run services after 7.30pm after its grant fell from £3 million to £1.35 million.

Popular routes such as the X17 will not be affected, but services to villages will be affected.

There have been warnings the cuts will affect those working late shifts in low-paid jobs, and could have a knock-on effect on the night-time economy.

County councillor Bernard Kirton (Ind, Whitnash) said cutting the frequency of services, not the hours they run between was a better way to save money.

Speaking at Whitnash town council last week, Cllr Judy Falp (Ind, Whitnash) warned stopping evening buses would affect those worst off. She said: “People actually work at night and quite often in low-paid employment and so they might not have a car.

“We’re not talking about people going on a jolly - people work. The county council is being very short-sighted here. We’re supposed to be encouraging people to go to work and we’re cutting the opportunity for them to do so.”

Harbury parish councillor Jenny Patrick said stopping evening services would leave rural communities much more isolated and warned stopping people travelling into Leamington could affect the night-time economy, while villages would need to find ways to keep teenagers occupied if they could not go out.

She said: “We’re not the only rural community this will affect.

“Job opportunities will be lost and you have to go further afield for those jobs.

“I grew up in the countryside and you had to have a car. It’s a shame that in this day and age we should be looking for a transport service.”

At present, bus services after 6pm and on Sundays are subsidised by Warwickshire County Council. The councillor responsible for bus services, Alan Cockburn (Con, Kenilworth St John’s), said the council was in an “unenviable position” and there was “no painless way” of slashing the budget.

He said the subsidy had been cut to £1.35 million, but the county council had added money to keep Sunday bus services running and was ensuring that all villages and hamlets had at least one bus per week.

Cllr Cockburn said officers were in negotiations with bus companies and new timetables will be drawn up over the next six months, with residents informed of changes as they arise.