36 Leicestershire bus routes under threat from the Conservatives

Grim news in the Leicester Mercury:

Bus routes at risk after the county council approved plans to cut £400,000 from the passenger transport budget have been identified. 

Leicestershire County Council will look at services that it currently provides over the next five months before making a decision on which routes it will continue to provide and which will be scrapped.

A series of consultations on threatened services has been announced - there are 36 in total.

The consultation on three routes serving Market Harborough - the 58 to Lutterworth, the 44 to Fleckney and Foxton and the 33 town service - will take place in July.

The omens are not good. Leicestershire Conservatives tweeted an attack on Labour and the Liberal Democrats for trying to defend bus services in the council's budget meeting.

And the council's director of transport, as quoted by the Mercury, has a patronising attitude and seems to find the idea of bus services faintly ridiculous:

"We can’t offer gold plated vehicles but we can work within the financial envelope to develop ideas with communities. 

"People’s idea of public transport is a 52 seater bus driving around at this time from this place, stopping here, but things are changing now."

But at least I will have one more summer with local bus services to aid my explorations.