Four bus services in Harborough area face the axe – council says it can no longer afford to keep them running

The services have all been subsidised by the council because they have not traditionally been used by enough passengers for an operator to make money. But the council has been left with an £88 million hole in its budget and says it now needs to make £1m worth of savings on bus services alone.

In total, up to 26 bus routes across Leicestershire are all in the firing line and first could be cut as early as August.

The services affected in the Harborough district are:

- Service 30 between Market Harborough and Southern Estate

- Service 33, the Market Harborough town service

- Service 44 between Fleckney, Market Harborough and Foxton

- Service 58 between Lutterworth and Market Harborough.

Leicestershire County Council’s cabinet members will discuss the plans for the services at their meeting on Friday, February 10.

Ann Curruthers, the council’s director of environment and transport, promised no one would be left without access to essentials like supermarkets and healthcare if a service is cut. “It won’t leave people high and dry,” she said.

“We will provide for those essentials. [But], the harsh reality for us as Leicestershire County Council is unfortunately we’re not in a position to provide the level of choice for all trip purposes or all destinations people might want to go to.

“It would be great if we could, whether that is for work, employment or leisure. We understand people don’t always want to go to their nearest local centre, they might want to go to Leicester or another bigger market town. But, we are unfortunately not in a financial position where we can subsidise bus routes to meet all needs across the county.”

The new services being considered for the axe will be judged on a number criteria, including the cost to the authority, how many people live in the community it serves, whether there is another bus service in the area, and why people use it. The council will then decide whether to continue funding the route, make changes to the service like its frequency, running times or route, or scrap it completely.

As an alternative to bus services, the council is set to look at providing “demand responsive transport” – which would involve using a local taxi service which can be used to book a trip on certain days for a similar cost to a bus fare. However, Ms Curruthers said this would likely only be on offer two or three days a week.