Whittles’ doomed bus depot in Ludlow will be officially closed on November 18 - but not before its bosses answer to complaints about the meltdown of a number of services.
Councillor Heather Kidd, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Ludlow, has called on Shropshire County Council to take action to tackle the problems of bus services along several routes in south Shropshire and Bridgnorth.
She claims problems with buses not turning up have arisen following Whittles Coach and Bus Ltd’s decision to shut its depot due to staffing difficulties.
David Shurden, managing director of Whittles, which has its headquarters in Kidderminster, said: “We will be shutting in Ludlow on November 18, but we are being blamed for things that are not our fault.
“When we announced the depot was closing, we lost some more staff which made things more difficult. But to the best of my knowledge every service is running.”
Mrs Kidd has asked the leader of the opposition on the county council, Councillor Peter Phillips, to press the council to fine Whittles and make more strenuous efforts to get a new operator in place as soon as possible.
She said: “As far as I can see, the county’s reaction to this problem has been lamentably slow.”
Fred Ratcliff, head of integrated transport at SCC, said: “The council has been aware of problems caused by the impending closure of Whittles Ludlow depot for a number of weeks and has made the Traffic Commissioner aware of these problems and of the council’s significant concern.”
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