Search Everything in One Place

Explore the web, images, videos, news, and more – all in one place.

News

Plea from MP for more evening and weekend buses

Tom Collins said a lack of evening and weekend services was frustrating for residents
Tom Collins said a lack of evening and weekend services was frustrating for residents

Worcester MP Tom Collins also criticises the county council over transport investment.

Worcester's MP has called for more investment into bus services in the city, saying a lack of evening and weekend pickups have had a "devastating" impact.

Tom Collins welcomed a government pledge to cap most bus fares at £2 in 2027, but said people were frustrated at infrequent services.

The Labour MP has also criticised coalition-run Worcestershire County Council, saying millions of pounds in government funding towards public transport had not been invested properly.

The BBC has contacted the council for a response.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that the £2 bus fare cap would last throughout the whole of next year, down from the current maximum of £2.

Collins said: "I'm frustrated because I think we've had £15m in extra money, provided to Worcestershire, by this government since it came into power (for public transport) and yet that's not been deployed in more bus services.

"We've had a couple of bus services that have improved - and some early signs of hope - but the improvements should have been a lot faster and a lot deeper.

"People in Worcester want more buses in the evening, they want them on a weekend - especially at weekends actually, we've had devastating drops in service."

Prime Minister Andy Burnham aboard a bus as he announced the £2 fare cap
Prime Minister Andy Burnham aboard a bus as he announced the £2 fare cap

The MP also said he had been doing his own research with residents, which he claimed showed people were unhappy.

"All the research I've done with residents shows that unless there's a bus to take you back home in the evening, you're not going to take a bus into work in the morning," he added.

The county council has been investing in its own on demand bus service, launched in 2021 in Bromsgrove and now operating across several locations in Worcestershire.

More than 62,000 journeys were made on it last year, a rise of 62%, with bosses exploring expanding the service further.

The main provider of buses in Worcester is First Bus, which said it continued to "work in partnership with national, regional and local government" on improving services.

Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

More on this story

Related internet links

Read full story on BBC

Related News

More stories you might be interested in.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos called Amazon’s customer service to prove a point but waited in silence for more than 10 minutes — ‘It was really long’
Barchart·1 day ago

Billionaire Jeff Bezos called Amazon’s customer service to prove a point but waited in silence for more than 10 minutes — ‘It was really long’

Numbers can tell a story. Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos believed they could also tell the wrong one. When customer complaints didn’t match what his team’s reports were saying, he decided there was only one way to settle the debate. Speaking on the Lex Fridman Podcast in December 2023, Bezos recalled an early Amazon meeting where executives revie...

Trump’s bizarre secret nuclear giveaway with Saudi Arabia is leaked
The Daily Beast·3 hours ago

Trump’s bizarre secret nuclear giveaway with Saudi Arabia is leaked

Self-styled “Dealmaker-in-Chief” Donald Trump plans to enter a pact with Saudi Arabia that could allow the repressive kingdom to develop nuclear weapons. Trump, 80, intends to announce and sign the deal to boost the country’s nascent nuclear program—with no concessions to the U.S.—on Wednesday. Such an agreement has been under discussion for years, but the idea had always been to force Saudi Arabia’s hand in return.

Top