Post by wirewiper on Mar 27, 2021 18:44:41 GMT
The CPRE (Council for the Protection of Rural England) has produced a report calling for proper funding of rural buses. They argue that each village in England with a population of 200 or more should have as a minimum an hourly bus service on Monday to Saturday daytimes - pointing out that this is already the case in areas of rural Germany and Switzerland that are sparsely populated. This is because the service is funded as a "public good" and is seen as essential to rural communities as water and electricity.
Their estimated cost for this provision would be £2.7billion per year assuming current commercial fare levels, although cheaper fares or even free travel are also put forward as suggestions. The report points out that bus use in the French town of Dunkerque has doubled since the buses were made free - with half the new trips being made by people switching from cars.
The full report is 40 pages long and can be read and downloaded from here:
www.cpre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CPRE_Every-village-every-hour_report.pdf
Their estimated cost for this provision would be £2.7billion per year assuming current commercial fare levels, although cheaper fares or even free travel are also put forward as suggestions. The report points out that bus use in the French town of Dunkerque has doubled since the buses were made free - with half the new trips being made by people switching from cars.
The full report is 40 pages long and can be read and downloaded from here:
www.cpre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/CPRE_Every-village-every-hour_report.pdf