Future of Shropshire Link to be discussed
Shropshire Council is looking at a range of alternative options before decisions are made regarding the future of the Shropshire Link bus service.
The number of people using the service has fallen over the past year, and current figures show that across the county less than an average of six people are now typically using each Shropshire Link bus each day, which means the fleet of nine buses is being used to 17% of its capacity.
Figures also show that a total of 300 individual passengers actually use the service each month, and 100 of those have access to an alternative means of transport.
That means the cost to the taxpayer is over £19 for every passenger trip on a Shropshire Link bus, and some trips are subsidised by more than £150. This means paying a daily subsidy of over £2,000.
A cross-party group of councillors looked at the service in great detail as part of a Task and Finish Group looking at public transport, and recommended that it could not be sustained in its current format.
A range of options are now being drawn up to be considered by Cabinet – and users of the service – before any decisions are made.
Councillor Claire Wild, Cabinet member for transport, said:
“The Task and Finish Group did a lot of really good work and ultimately concluded that Shropshire Link was not sustainable. So we are presenting a report on public transport to Cabinet on 24 July which recommends that the Shropshire Link service is redesigned to meet customer needs at a lower cost.
“This will of course require talking to users and potential users of the service before any further decisions are made.”
The options being considered will include specific transport services, such as partnerships with initiatives like the Shropshire Community Transport Consortium, in areas which have a relatively high number of people currently using Shropshire Link.
Local councillors in these areas – principally in the more rural parts of the county – have already been involved in discussions, and more will take place over the coming weeks and months.
The council’s Cabinet is being asked to formally remove a paragraph in the Shropshire Council Bus Strategy 2011 to 2016 which says it should be a “high priority” to operate Shropshire Link on at least two days a week.
Cabinet is also being asked to approve the de-registration of the current Shropshire Link service, allowing the council flexibility to commission a variety of transport services in the future.
