The Tale So Far...

Good morning comrades :)

In this post I thought I'd write a breakdown of what I've done so far as the MYP. Frankly, it isn't a lot or particularly impressive but it takes time to find one's feet and know who to contact etc.

Firstly, on the matter of bus transport. I discovered that local buses were likely to shut down and since I included improving the bus service in my manifesto I thought making sure these buses were not removed would be a good test for how a region-wide campaign might go. I duly emailed a local councillor explaining the problems that shutting down the bus services would cause for not only local youths, but pensioners and anyone else who can't drive.

He replied with a very polite email that corrected some of my facts, for which I was grateful, and also explained the extent to which the council already subsidise the bus routes. Not only do they have to pay for all over-65's to get free bus travel anywhere and everywhere (note this becomes pointless if there is no bus service in the first place) since central government withdrew funding after a year, but the local council also gives First Bus cash to the tune of £120,000 a year, just to keep the existing services open.

Now First Bus have decided that isn't enough, and the council do not possess the funds to subsidise further.

No, I'm not happy with it either; the bus services were privatised on the understanding they would provide an adequate service for local residents, something they obviously aren't doing at the moment. However, short of taking rural transport routes into public ownership, there doesn't seem to be an alternative and I'm probably not the only one who, looking at their past record, thinks it's ever so slightly unlikely that this government will be overly keen to nationalise the rural transport network.

So in summary, want better public transport? Tough luck. It does seem a tiny bit hypocritical that in an age of climate chaos when we're being told to use cars less, there is no funding available to pay for a cheap, green alternative.

This post has morphed into a sort of giant complaint about the bus services, so I'll stop now and fill you in on the rest of my MYP activities tomorrow.

Fraternally

Fred