WHEN the removal of the £¼ million subsidy for the 374 bus route was announced by portfolio holder Cllr Oliver Gerrish in February, there was concern in some quarters that large areas could be left without a service.
Now, a week after announcing Amber Coaches had stepped in to operate a bus service through East Tilbury and Linford, Cllr Gerrish revealed that an innovative answer has been found for Horndon-on-the-Hill as well.
He said: “Trans-Vol had won the tender for the 265 route from Bulphan and we’ve agreed with them that four times a day, it will be varied to include Horndon-on-the-Hill as well as Orsett Hospital, Stanford-le-Hope and Grays.”
Cllr Gerrish said: “I have been at pains to point out that the council cannot afford to pay for bus services in the same way that we had in the past.
“Many councils don’t run any subsidised services – but we choose to do so because we know their importance to communities, a choice that has become increasingly difficult as our finances are squeezed.
“It will be harder still in the next year’s bidding round as we have no allocated money for subsidising bus services. This makes it crucial that we take the opportunity to restructure essential routes to run commercially now – there will be no safety net next year.
“As the 374 now has comparatively little subsidy, both it and the extended 265 will rely on local people paying fares to keep them going – though of course, bus passes can still be used.
“Trans-Vol is taking on the whole risk in running its varied services. If not enough people use them, the company will have to stop – otherwise they risk running out of money and all their services will stop, which cannot be allowed to happen.
“I would ask residents to make sure that they are using the service, because this is the only way that it will continue.”
He added: “I would like to extend my thanks to everyone that has made this possible – it’s been a huge group effort, across Amber, Trans-Vol and the Transport team at the council.
