Hucknall resident pleas for bus company to rethink plans to axe town services

Trentbarton announced last month it was axing all evening and Sunday services on the Connect service, which serves the west Hucknall estates.

Trentbarton has blamed low passenger numbers and the end of subsidy funding from Nottinghamshire Council.

But Hucknall councillors have criticised the move with Coun Lee Waters calling it “short-sighted”.

Residents are also unhappy,, among them Judith Wilkinson, of Polperro Way.

She said: “I certainly agree with Coun Waters’ views – people need a regular, reliable service.

”The fares are quite expensive for families, you can't blame people for having cars in west Hucknall.

“If bus services were regular and reliable I'm sure people would use them more often.

“We moved to Hucknall in 2009 from Mapperley where we had an extremely good bus service.

“At that time there was a direct bus service in a morning and evening to take me directly to Nottingham for work, which was wonderful.

“Unfortunately the week we moved in, the service was withdrawn.

“Some years later another service, the 8AOT, went from our area, down Watnall Road through Hucknall to Nottingham.

“This was really useful as it stopped close to the Health Centre on Curtis Street, but eventually we lost that service as well.

“The Blue and Green Connect buses are all we have left – what will happen when we only have one on each route?

“They seem to struggle now to keep to the timetable.

“Trentbarton seems to think we will still have a 15-minute service, if we use both routes.

“In some instances, though, the routes are a distance apart and many people will struggle to walk between stops.

“I really do feel it will cause problems of isolation for many people.

To make sure I get to important appointments on time I sometimes have to use a taxi which I don't like doing.

"It cost me more than £25 last time I went to the QMC by taxi and more than £5 to get to my doctors in Hucknall, just to make sure I got there on time.

"People deserve a choice of transport to suit their needs.

"We the public can't always use public transport every day, but to lose even more services in our area is a disaster.”

Mrs Wilkinson also wrote to Trentbarton directly to express concerns.

Replying to her, the company said: “For many years there have been routes that have not been able to run commercially, both for us and almost every other operator in the country.

This has been where local councils have stepped in and funded the operators to continue running the services without making a loss.

"Unfortunately, over the last year or so, council budgets have been tightened somewhat and the county council has removed funding for services in Hucknall and Cotgrave.

"From our perspective, we cannot run them commercially.

"As such, unless the council were to change its mind and continue funding, the timetable changes next month will come into play.”

Hucknall county councillors are now putting forward a proposal for the council to subsidise the service on a further six-month trial.