Bus services falls victim to ‘inadequate’ fares scheme

05 December 2007

A bus service is to be withdrawn after 25 years because of a lack of public funding and an inadequate concessionary fares scheme.

Operator Wilts and Dorset said it could no longer run the X4 service between Salisbury and Bath because it could not find a way to make it viable, and it warns other operators may have to make similar decisions.

‘We are disappointed that we can no longer viably operate the service, or find a solution to make it sustainable,’ said Andrew Wickham, operations director at Wilts and Dorset.

‘The introduction of concessionary fares has increased passengers journeys by 3.5%, but we only receive half the standard adult fare while we face ever-increasing operating costs, including fuel and salaries,’ he added. Currently three buses and five drivers are required for the X4 service on the daily timetable. Without subsidies from local authorities, Wickham believed many smaller bus operators would also find it difficult to make services break even.

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Bus services falls victim to ‘inadequate’ fares scheme

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