Withdrawal of Bus Routes 72 & 73
Date Added: 21/09/2022
Sandy Town Council condemns in the strongest possible terms the decision taken by Stagecoach East that bus routes 72 & 73 which link Bedford with Sandy, Potton and Biggleswade and currently support wider connectivity in northeast Bedfordshire are to be axed at the end of October. The announcement by will be met with anger and dismay and appears to demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the vital role these bus routes play in the day-to-day life of people living not only in the towns named above but in smaller outlying villages and hamlets where they are relied upon to enable residents, young and old, to go about their everyday lives.
It is inconceivable that Sandy will be left without a bus service and its residents, totaling around 14000, will be deprived the option of using public transport to reach their places of work or education, as well as health, recreation, banking and retail facilities in other towns.
The lack of a bus service will also restrict access to Sandy by those wishing to visit and use our retail and other facilities which will inevitably result in a further strain on their viability.
In the meantime, and while it is to be welcomed that discussions are ongoing with other potential operators, which we naturally hope will reach a fruitful conclusion, it is to be regretted that Stagecoach East does not appear willing or able to continue the present services to ensure all those potentially disadvantaged by the axing of these routes have some certainty in the short to medium term.
We look to Central Bedfordshire Council Officers and Ward Members to vigorously pursue present discussions with a view to ensuring an entirely satisfactory outcome for Sandy's residents, and indeed those of neighbouring communities, and would urge that all possible resources are made available to put replacement services in place, ever mindful of pledges made to maintain an increasingly green, sustainable and integrated public transport system.
Finally, Sandy Town Council will press our Member of Parliament, Richard Fuller MP to intervene and, mindful of the vision for bus services in England outside of London as set out in National Bus Strategy for England launched in May 2022, do all that is possible within government and beyond to meet these aspirations, two of which are:-
1. to increase bus journeys, firstly by returning the overall number of journeys made by bus to pre-Covid levels and then to exceed it and
2. to bring services across England closer to London standards, with more services, simpler and cheaper fares, more bus lanes and greener and more accessible buses.