“We have to redesign public transport" - Dorset councillor proposes new way to run buses
Dorset bus services are "underfunded" and aren't "functioning right" for those living in rural areas
Dorset's public transport network “isn’t functioning right” according to Dorset Councillor Ray Bryan.
At a government hearing discussing rural connectivity, the councillor highlighted that the bus service has been underfunded and that rural communities were being abandoned as a result.
Cllr Bryan said: “We can't afford to run buses into some rural areas and that's a big issue. We've got to find a way of funding that, whether it's subsidised from the centre or paid for by the person using the bus.”
Councillor Bryan claims that in recent years there has been a reduction in the number of services running as only 91 buses cover the whole of Dorset and “that’s purely down to money,” noted Cllr Bryan.
He continued to say: “Houses in Dorset are so dispersed so it’s always going to be difficult to give a regular service to those outlying areas.”
The lack of connectivity to rural areas has a more significant, according to Chris Hinchliff, the Campaigns Manager at CPRE.
He highlighted that it has a detrimental affect on mental health, particularly loneliness and isolation.
A survey conducted by The Countryside Charity (CPRE) found that 86% of 16-to-25-year-olds, who want to leave rural areas, cited infrequent and unreliable public transport as one of the key issues.
Mr Hinchcliff said: “It's clearly having a big toll on younger people living in rural communities.”
At the government hearing, Cllr Bryan proposed a new idea whereby small vehicles would collect people from rural areas and take them to the main bus routes. He said: “We have to redesign our approach to providing public transport.”
As it stands, Dorset Council is having to rent buses and drivers from bus companies to keep the services running that was the council can keep the revenue, run the service and set the prices themselves.
Cllr Bryan added: “We've got to find the funding to run the buses because for the bus services to get used, you've got to have the availability at low costs, that could mean subsidising the fares, but at the moment we can't afford to do it.”
According to Cllr Bryan, passengers in rural communities are typically of an older demographic. He highlighted one bus route whereby the bus company makes 92p from older passengers, in contrast the bus fare for a younger user is £13.
He said: “It's important that we look at the way we have pushed public transport into an area that just isn't functioning right.”
“It's no secret that we have three major bus operators in the Dorset area and one of them is now out of business and that's my fear... If we don't do something soon, then there’s always a risk that bus services are going to get less and less.”
During the hearing, plans for a National Bus Strategy, aimed at increasing the number of bus routes, were proposed.