Staffordshire County Council is halving its bus subsidy budget to £1.3m, seeing the loss of 23 routes, and service cuts on another 40. Operators affected include Arriva, D&G, First, Midland Classic, Scraggs, Stantons and Taxico and carry 562,000 people a year. The remaining supported/tender routes carry 814,000 people.
Funding will be withdrawn for 282,000 daytime journeys, 142,000 in the evenings and 76,000 on Sundays and Bank Holidays, as well as 62,000 dial-a-ride trips.
In total, they account for 4% of all bus journeys (including commercial services) across the county. Around 2,500 regular users will be affected.
It will see the end of all the rural ‘dial-a-ride’ services, such as the Moorlands Connect and Newcastle’s Border Car, which require subsidies of more than £10 per person.
