Northampton community pleads with Stagecoach to keep 'lifeline' bus service following cut back announcement

Northampton residents are pleading with Stagecoach to keep their “lifeline” bus service in place after plans were announced to cut it at the end of this month (October).

Bus operator Stagecoach announced that changes will be made to 19 of its services across Northampton and Daventry.

The company says the raft of alterations to times and routes will come into force on October 30, providing a more “sustainable bus service for the future” and better reflecting changing travel patterns.

The number three bus service, which serves residents in Briar Hill, Camp Hill and the surrounding area, is one of the 19 services set to be cut.

Many residents use the number three bus to get to and from Tesco Extra in Mereway, as well as numerous schools in the area.

Briar Hill resident Betty Tweed says the cut is going to affect her and her 11-year-old daughter “dramatically”.

The mother said: "It's going to affect me dramatically. It's going to impact a lot of people.

"I use the bus to get to work and take my daughter to school. I would not be able to afford to take my child to school in a taxi everyday; walking there and back every day would be a big, big struggle for us.

"It's a kick in the teeth for us. With the cost of everything going up, the one thing people rely on is a bus service.

"It's definitely a lifeline for Briar Hill people, for the younger people, the older people, the single parents, people with buggies.

"It's going to be a tough winter. It'll definitely be a struggle to get to places."

Phillip Marr, 63, who lives in Camp Hill and struggles to walk due to osteoarthritis, said his partner will now have to walk the two-mile, 40 minute round journey to get their shopping from Tesco in Hunsbury.

He said: "It's not acceptable. It definitely is a lifeline for lots of people, for people to get to Tesco, for people who can't walk very easily. It will be greatly missed.

"People don't want to be out in the cold, especially me, I'm 63. People can't afford taxis either."

Phillip said, as a compromise, he would like to see the route kept but at a reduced service.

Independent councillor Julie Davenport, of the Rushmere and Delapre ward, questioned whether WNC could subsidise the service.

She said: "It seems crazy when we say that we want sustainable travel; use of buses, cycles, and walking but then cut bus routes.

"I do know that previous councils have subsidised Stagecoach buses but that stopped a few years ago. Other councils subsidise their town/city's bus infrastructure, but we don't.

"How can we say we have a climate emergency, want to be carbon neutral and then cut bus routes?"

Patrick Stringer, commercial director of Stagecoach Midlands, said to councillor Davenport that the number three service “only covers 30 percent of its cost”.

"Without any financial support I'm afraid that section of the route is not something we can keep on going," Mr Stringer added.

West Northamptonshire Council says it has requested “urgent” meetings with Stagecoach to discuss the “challenge”, but that ultimately, the authority has no say in the axing of services.

Stuart Timmiss, West Northamptonshire Council's Executive Director of Place, Economy & Environment, said: "We are currently seeing significant challenges in regard to retaining existing bus services, not just in West Northants but across the region and indeed nationally.

"Since the pandemic we have not seen the return of passengers that was expected and nowhere close what it was pre-pandemic.

"Given the recent increases in fuel, the position has worsened still further.

"We have requested urgent meetings with Stagecoach and other operators to discuss the full extent of the challenge and what we might be in a position to do as a council in partnership with operators and partners.

"Regarding service provision, to be absolutely clear, the council has no say in the stopping of services. We are consulted along with other stakeholders, but the final decision is ultimately with the operator."

Click here to read Stagecoach's explanation in full.