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Since our last update in January, Parwich Parish Council has been in contact with Derbyshire County Council’s Senior Project Officer Local Bus Network (Environmental Services) numerous times regarding concerns over the bus service. To summarise correspondence from the Senior Project Officer.

1. Usage of the buses
Although there are no smart ticketing systems in operation for bus services in the Parwich area the following statistics show the usage of the buses.

Service 449 – Service 449 Ilam – Bakewell (Alternate Mondays)

Between February 2013 and January 2014 a total of 206 passengers used this service. The highest number was 30 in July 2013 and the lowest was 4 in March 2013.

Service 102 – Parwich to Ashbourne – 4 buses per day Monday-Saturday

• April 2013  – 227
• May 2013 – 243
• June 2013 – 244
• July 2013 – 269
• August 2013 – 289
• September 2013 – 174
• October 2013 – 237
• November 2013 – 191
• December 2013 – 142
• January 2014 – 189
• February 2014 – 197

2. Change of timetable
In response to comments, Derbyshire County Council has moved the time of the first bus leaving Parwich forward by 5 minutes, effective from 31st March 2014. This is in order to provide better outbound connections onto the Swift service to Derby.

Future Funding
Derbyshire County Council officers work within budgets that are set by Cabinet. There are no specific monies set aside for bus services in Parwich, or anywhere else in Derbyshire, but there is an overall budget for supported bus services in Derbyshire. The Authority does face significant funding cuts over the next few years, however, budgets are set by elected members and not officers. It is the case that the contract which includes Service 102 is heavily subsidised and therefore, regardless of any wider budget concerns, if there are any opportunities to reduce the cost of providing these services whilst retaining the same (or better) level of service for service users then this would clearly be prudent of the Authority to look to do so to ensure best use of our limited resource. A reduction in the cost of provision would also help strengthen the justification for the existence of these services. This will be something the Authority will consider prior to deciding how to continue providing services after the current contract expires in October 2014. Options include extension of the existing contract, retendering, or integration of the provision within the Ashbourne Community Transport operation. Beyond this, there are no plans to make changes to the services themselves, although the Authority will continue to listen to any feedback and make any changes in response, if possible.

The motivation of this department (Environmental Services) remains one of finding efficient means of maintaining services, including services for Parwich. Consequently, any perceived opinions which may exist on future changes to contracts are misplaced.

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Councillor Simon Spencer suggests that there is little point in holding a public meeting when there are no planned changes to the bus service.  As a result Parwich Parish Council will not be organising a public meeting in April, but will review the situation as necessary.

Parwich Parish Council
22.3.2014

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