On the buses

Today I went to town to celebrate the work of our Library, the band played and many people attended, more details can be found on http://www.shepton.org.uk/

Shepton Mallet spoke as one against the plan by the Conservative County Council to close Shepton Mallets library, like many people across Somerset this cultural vandalism was consider completely unacceptable.

Shepton's library looks to have earned a reprieve, albeit with a reduced service. Smaller libraries across Somerset will still be closed. So for some residents of Somerset they will need to travel for their library services.

The Conservative County Council are to cut our bus services by 50%, lifeline bus routes are to be slashed as the council halves its spending on supported buses, amounting to a cut of more than £3.5m over three years.

The likely result of these cuts will be as one bus company said the changes meant "Somerset would close for business at six o'clock and off-peak services will take a significant hit".

David Redgewell, from Transport South West, said: "We're extremely concerned that people working in Bristol and Bath will find it very difficult to get home at night to the Mendip towns.

The Conservative lib Dem government has cut the Bus Operator Grant by 20%, this transferring the subsidy into higher fees. Passenger growth has seen between 3-8% growth this year. The subsidy to the bus pass has also been cut from 64p a ticket to 34p, this effecting the viability of the bus service.

Our local bus services are under attack, especially rural link services, for many these bus services are vital for every day life. Bus cuts will cause misery for bus users, obstruct the delivery of other public services and hold back the economy.

An excellent report http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/system/files/Buses+Matter.pdf

More information can be found on http://www.bettertransport.org.uk/

Here in Shepton we have no Theatre, Cinema, Indoor Swimming Pool,Job Centre and governmental offices (other than Mendip)and many need the bus for accessing their jobs. A diverse group of people use buses, the bus pass has transformed many older peoples lives, college students can use buses to access their courses and give them freedom to live their lives, low paid people who needs transport, those who do not have a car.

Wells Bus station also employs 50 people, with the loss of bus services, this will lead to job loses.

We need our bus services, back in 2004 we fought off the Lib Dems proposals to cut evening and weekend buses to Shepton, it looks like the same fight will be fought again.