Shropshire MP reveals bus pass loophole as she meets Government Minister over county’s failing bus services
A Shropshire MP has branded a loophole “crazy” after it was revealed bus passengers whose journey crossed into Wales found their passes were no longer valid.
Bus routes that weave across the border between England and Wales present a peculiar challenge to bus pass users living to the west of the county – a situation highlighted by Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire.
Helen raised the anomaly with the Minister for Local Transport, Simon Lightwood MP, at the Department for Transport on Tuesday (16th September) during a meeting to discuss the state of bus services in Shropshire.
To make matters worse, it’s been discovered by the MP that legislation was included nearly 20 years ago to overcome the issue, but has never been enacted.
Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, said: “The situation is a nonsense and highlights how successive governments have left rural areas to decline in favour of metropolitan or more urban areas.”
In the last six years, Shropshire bus routes have been cut by two thirds (66%) – more than any other area in England – and the MP has long-called for greater priority to be given to rural areas when it comes to transport funding.
The meeting with the Minister, called by the MP, followed a Bus Services (No.2) Bill debate in Parliament last week, at which Helen had tabled amendments which she said reflected the experiences of constituents.
In a speech, the North Shropshire MP said: “If people want to get a bus between two destinations in England, but their bus changes in Wales, their bus pass isn’t valid, and I think that’s a bit crazy.”
The MP said the “wiggly” border between England and Wales was problematic for North Shropshire pass holders wanting to use the bus, including elderly and disabled people. She gave the example of passengers using the route from Oswestry to Chester, only to find their bus passes invalid at Wrexham.
That service, she added, was the only service that runs in the whole of the county on a Sunday and her speech went on to point out the impact of a lack of funding for buses in the county.
Helen said: “Out of the £1billion bus funding that was announced last November for rural and coastal areas, only £2.5m of revenue was allocated to Shropshire.
“It has been a difficult experience for my constituents,” she added, “and towns like Market Drayton have become almost isolated because their bus service is so poor.”
She said the effects of the lack of funding were not just being felt in Shropshire but many parts of rural Britain and called on the Minister to commit to an improvement for rural areas.
