The sorry state of Derbyshire’s bus services

I can confirm through the auspices of the Derby and Derbyshire local access forum that there is no public “strategic document” for the withdrawal of bus services by Derbyshire County Council (Letters 11 May & 08 Jun). There is a list of current contract termination dates but this is common practice for any business with its suppliers. Just because the current contract for provision of soap ends on a certain date, does not mean that no more soap will be purchased ever again. Just like the lack of a national bus strategy (unlike every other mode of travel from walking to aviation), there is no Derbyshire bus strategy.

The council has now updated its roadside displays in the Matlock area but not in the Bakewell area and its failure to do so anywhere before the late spring Bank Holiday weekend caused confusion for many tourists and a further loss of confidence that buses will actually arrive. One operator has attempted to tape its correct timetable over the council’s cases in Bakewell with a handwritten note pointing out the time of the last bus (which is of course two hours earlier than the council’s display still shows). Furthermore, the council has not consulted with affected parish councils concerning the withdrawal of some commercial services by other operators. This is contrary to the intentions of the Bus Services Act 2017 which introduced a 28 day “notification period” prior to the 56 days registration period so as to at least give users some advance warning. 

The TransPeak service should fill the gap in train services between Matlock and Buxton, not duplicate train services between Buxton and Manchester or Derby and Matlock. Through ticketing should be available on this service, including the facility to purchase a ticket on the bus by card to any rail station in the country. Real-time bus departures should be on the rail station monitors, whilst real-time train times should be on the bus stop / station monitors and the bus ticket machine should be updated with delayed train information to facilitate connections. This could even be relayed to passengers via an on-board screen. However, what we actually have are redundant real-time bus stop screens now masquerading as bus stop flags along the A6, with more funding being ploughed into real-time information as if it were some brand new Derbyshire invention. Ilkeston has gained at least one such sign, though it defaults to scheduled time for at least one operator. 

Patronage of many bus services in Derbyshire is in freefall with several routes losing 50 per cent of their passengers in the past five years. The long-established former Felix service was still being duplicated ten years ago, yet Wellglade has now announced its complete withdrawal just six years after taking the company over. In Rutland the council appears to be held to ransom by operators demanding more funding for what should be a commercially viable service between Melton Mowbray and Corby carrying 127,000 passengers per annum but at least Rutland County Council is trying to preserve its bus network (‘Council re-runs tender for popular bus route’ LTT 22 Jun). Staffordshire County Council has actually reinstated some bus services two months after withdrawing them, although it is likely that many former customers will have made alternative arrangements and will be difficult to attract back. 

Nottingham Business School is happy to work with any operators or local authorities receptive to new ideas or initiatives to stem the tide of bus patronage and service level cuts. We are all in agreement that buses receive thousands of pounds whilst the roads and railways receive millions yet buses carry far more passengers than trains each year and are accessible to a much greater proportion of the population.