Public transport should be an all-year thing

Rural Shropshire’s summer weekend bus services are a delight. But we need to find ways to run such services throughout the year

Paul Salveson

30 May 2014

The Shropshire Hills Shuttle climbs out of Church Stretton

View from the bus down into Carding Mill Valley showing the linear car park

Paul Salveson is a board member of Passenger Focus and a visiting professor at the University of Huddersfield. Paul’s book Railpolitik – bringing railways back to communities, was published in 2013, also by Lawrence and Wishart. The views expressed here are his own. www.paulsalveson.org.uk

I’m just back from a relaxing week’s holiday in the much under-rated area of south Shropshire. The county is pretty well served by rail, with Shrewsbury still having five major routes converging on it. Most of the larger towns have good rail services. However, some of the most scenic areas, such as the Long Mynd and the weirdly beautiful Stiperstones, are less fortunate. Bus services are thin on the ground or non-existent. During the summer months Shropshire Council supports a...