Cuts to Shropshire buses - and a better idea from Europe

£450,000 cuts could see Shropshire bus services slashed

says a headline in the Shropshire Star.

Reading the small print, the Shrewsbury to Bishop's Castle bus may be cut from five round trips a day to two.

This will come as no surprise to anyone who read a post on this blog two years ago.

And to those who see demand-led services as the future, it is worth noting that:

The Clun Valley Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride will withdraw its Saturday service.

All very depressing.

But it happens that today I also came across a report from the Foundation for Integrated Transport on Shropshire's rural buses.

It emphasises how inadequate the county's buses are even before this new round of cuts and points to schemes across Europe that integrate rail and bus services in rural areas.

A bus link between Bishop's Castle and the railway station at Craven Arms is one of its recommendations.

Yes, it would cost money, but we cannot go on cutting public transport like this. The Liberal Democrats must make the case for funding services at a reasonable level again.