PARWICH.ORG

BUSES at RISK

Parwich is at risk of losing its bus services as we know them today.
Derbyshire County Council, faced with Government cuts, has to make savings and is consulting about a new network for its subsidised services. In order to preserve as much of the service as we have today, can people in the village complete a DCC questionnaire copies of which are in the Pump bus shelter.

It is vital for our village that we have a voice in making sure we retain services, especially for those who use the bus to shop, link in to the Swift service from Ashbourne to Derby and Uttoxeter or depend on it to get to the Royal Derby Hospital. (A taxi from the Royal Derby to Parwich costs in the region of £30.)

A significant number in Parwich will be affected if the bus service is radically altered leaving the elderly, teenagers, those who need it for work or hospital appointments or travelling further afield at a significant disadvantage.

The questionnaire can also be completed online at

derbyshire.gov.uk/supportedbuses

But there are those without access to the Internet which is why there are hard copies in the Pump Shed. These have to be completed by December 14 and handed in at the library in Ashbourne or the mobile library in Parwich on December 1 or December 15. Alternatively, put the completed form through the letter box of Church Cottage (above the trough) and we will ensure they are handed in.

Could people be neighbourly and watch out for those who might like copies of the form.

Perhaps surprisingly, the questionnaire does not ask us what would encourage us to use the service or use it more frequently. I think it would be worthwhile adding your view to the questionnaire.

Richard Tresidder

Passengers using DCC funded bus services are being urged to provide information about their journeys − to help shape services in the future.

DCC needs to make cuts of £157 million by 2018, including making savings on the local bus and community transport services it supports.  Most bus services in Derbyshire are run commercially by local bus companies who set the routes and fares.  But around 15 per cent are funded by the council, including current spend of £3.7m on subsidised bus services.  Around £1.4 m is also spent on supporting community transport dial-a-bus services throughout the county and £50,000 on Wheels to Work − a moped loan and cycle scheme which helps people get to work, education or training.
But before any decisions about reducing or withdrawing services are made bus users are being asked to tell us about the journeys they make − which routes they use, when they travel and the reasons for making their trips. They are also being asked about the impact on them if any of these services were taken away or changed.
Councillor Dean Collins Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure said:

“We understand that getting out and about is vital to people maintaining their independence but we need to make savings and some difficult decisions about the services we can support in the future will have to be made. Local bus and community transport services will have to be run differently in the future because we will not have the same level of funding to support them. But we will not make any decisions about individual services until we have gathered information from bus users.”

The bus user survey can be completed online at derbyshire.gov.uk/supportedbuses or printed copies are available from all Derbyshire branch libraries.
Closing date for responses is 14 December 2014. Feedback from this survey will then be used to develop proposals for how transport, funded by the council, could run in the future.
These proposals will then go out to full consultation in 2015.
Councillor Collins added: “It’s really important that passengers tell us about their journeys so that any decisions we make have been properly informed, so that we can continue to provide the services that people want.”