'Shrewsbury hasn't had a Sunday bus for 10 years - that's a disgrace!' MP slates 'savage privatisation' of bus services

Speaking in Parliament, Julia Buckley MP criticised the previous Conservative Government's record on buses.

She cited fellow Shropshire MP Helen Morgan's claim that Shropshire lost more than 63 per cent of bus miles over the course of the last Government, from 2015 to 2024.

Shrewsbury MP Mrs Buckley this was down to "savage privatisation" pushing bus companies to pursue "profits over passengers".

She said residents have been cut off from vital health and education services, work and leisure as a result, and expressed her dismay that the county town has no buses running after 6.30pm.

The Shrewsbury MP also stated that the town has not had a Sunday bus service for 10 years, and is the only county town in the country to not have one. 

She told MPs on Monday (June 3): "We have no buses anywhere on a Sunday. In fact, in Shrewsbury we have not seen a Sunday bus for 10 years.

"Shrewsbury is a market town of 65,000 residents. It is the county town of Shropshire and hosts health, public and cultural services for 19 market towns and 400 villages, yet we are the only county town in this country not to have a Sunday bus service.

"It is a disgrace, and it is a painful symptom of the impact that the last Government had on public services in towns like mine up and down the country.

"The lack of evening services puts severe constraints on our night-time economy and the potential for residents to get home safely after work, travel or an evening out. Not everyone can afford to run a car or is medically able to drive.

"The population in Shropshire is nine years older than the national average, so many older residents have given up their vehicles and find themselves stranded in the evenings and at weekends. In some villages, they are left completely socially isolated."

The Shrewsbury MP told MPs that she is "regularly" contacted by employees who finish work at 6pm and are unable to race to the town's bus station to catch the last bus. She said this is "putting a block on economic growth".

Mrs Buckley added that Shrewsbury is "often" cut off from communities and individuals without a car, and said the last thing she wants to encourage is more congestion in the region.

The MP gave her backing of the Bus Services Bill that the Government said will "protect thousands of miles of vital bus routes", and "end the plight of bus routes being scrapped at short notice, tightening requirements for cancelling vital bus routes".

Mrs Buckley continued: "We must try to rebuild our public transport system.

"Ten years is a long time to wait to be reconnected to the outside world, but the good people of Shrewsbury will be celebrating as we debate this bill, which will give back to local authorities the power to run services for passengers, not just for profit. The bill has a clause that allows for socially necessary routes to link up medical, educational or public services to the local community at stops and times that empower them, not just the operator.

"The bill will not just improve lives in Shrewsbury, but transform lives, aspirations and the wellbeing of my residents, who have waited a decade for our Sunday service."