Delight as usage of free Saturday bus service in north Shropshire town soars
Civic leaders in Market Drayton have expressed their delight at soaring usage of the town's free weekend bus service.
Market Drayton Town Council introduced the free Saturday service in September 2023 and has continued to fund it ever since.
It has cost the town council £1,296 to run so far this year, and councillors heard the latest usage figures at a meeting last week.
Civic leaders were overjoyed to hear that 689 people used the service throughout May. The figure is a huge increase on the 391 people who used the service in April, and considerably greater than the 380 people who used the service in the same period last year.
Passenger numbers for March this year (583) had also risen on the same month last year (492).
Market Drayton Mayor Tim Manton has expressed his delight at the figures and said the Saturday bus service is proving a useful asset to residents.
He said: "It is becoming ever more popular but is also becoming, for a certain percentage of those people, a need-to-use bus service.
"The figures are really pleasing. For the townsfolk, it is something that is supported and subsidised by the town council, so it is wonderful.
"The figures portray that this is something useful for the town. It also means that the majority of those people that are using the service are coming into town and then going back out.
"They are coming into town for something, and that something will be to use the services and facilities in the town, and that has got to be good as it benefits the town's traders and other organisations like the library, so it is brilliant."
