Bath Labour’s parliamentary candidate Ollie Middleton has welcomed the Labour Party’s plans to hand back powers to the local community in Bath to save critical bus routes.
The ‘Passenger Power’ campaign was launched by the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Michael Dugher MP and is about putting communities and passengers back in control of local bus services.
Under the Coalition government, over 1,300 bus routes have been cut since 2010, meaning many people, particularly in rural areas, are seeing vital bus services disappear.
With cash-strapped councils considering slashing local transport subsidies even further, Bath Labour is worried that rural areas on the outskirts of Bath might be left stranded.
Commenting, Ollie Middleton said: “Local bus services provide a lifeline for people in Bath to get to school, work and visit the city centre. Earlier this month, transport groups across the West Country warned that bus services were already unbalanced.
“With more cuts to come, it is particularly worrying for some rural parts of Bath and will only serve to put more cars on the road. This does not address the underlying issues with local transport.
“Having gown up in Bath I am fully aware that transport is one of the biggest issues we face as a city. Currently local services are unaffordable and in effective.
“I am fully committed to Labour’s plans to give power back to passengers. I will work to make sure these plans are implemented in Bath so we can have an efficient but also affordable service once again”.
