Shropshire Council branded one of worst for bus cuts
Shropshire Council has been accused of slashing its spending on supported bus services.
The Campaign for Better Transport says that cuts to bus services across the country are now reaching "critical levels".
As many as 47 per cent of local authorities in England and Wales have reduced their support for buses for 2013-2014.
And Shropshire Council is one of the worst offenders, according to the campaign group, which claims the local authority has cut funding by 50 per cent.
The Campaign for Better Transport said that a response from the local authority to a Freedom of Information request showed that the council's supported bus budget had plummeted from £3.2 million last year to just £1.6 million in 2013-2014.
But Shropshire Council said the amount spent on supporting bus services in the county is set to fall by about 13 per cent and not 50 per cent.
CBT said the supported bus budget props up services that would not otherwise be commercially viable, including rural routes with Arriva.
Keith Myatt, a spokesman for Arriva, said the company was not aware of any cuts to services.
Telford & Wrekin Council, meanwhile, has increased its supported bus budget by three per cent, according to CBT.
Powys County Council is currently reviewing what
support it can give bus services in the future. Councillors rejected plans to scrap 12 bus routes in September despite the announcement the council faced a £30 million funding shortfall.
Councillor Peter Lewis, chairman of the Montgomeryshire committee, said: "It is all being looked at now and we are doing our best to protect as many local bus services as possible."
The key findings in CBT's report, published today, show that in the last three years there have been £17 million of cuts in the budget for supported bus services in England.
Plans for cuts of £48 million have already been announced for future years with the likelihood of more to come, the CBT says. Southend, Darlington and Hartlepool have become the first local authorities no longer to support any bus services. Cuts could be made by Transport for London, West Midlands transport authority Centro and the Welsh Government, the report said.
Claire Wild, Shropshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "From 2012/13 to 2013/14 the amount spent on supported local buses in the Shropshire Council area is set to fall by around 13 per cent, not 50 per cent, as stated in this report.
"This reduction is largely due to local community transport operators now providing ongoing flexible rural services more efficiently than the former ShropshireLink service, and to some services moving into a commercial operation from 2012 to 13."
CBT campaigner Martin Abrams said: "If Government doesn't take action to help support buses, we will see whole networks disappear."
