Press Release – 26/11/10
Stafford Green Condemns Government Bus Cuts
Reacting to reports of cuts to services and job losses at the bus company Arriva, transport campaigner and Green Party spokesperson Tom Harris raised concerns about mobility for people who rely on public transport, especially the elderly.
Mr Harris told us “This is a very sad day for Stafford. We have all been expecting the loss of services and jobs since the Spending Review, but for many this will be first time the cuts actually start to affect their lives directly. To me and, I am sure, to many other Staffordians, it seems terribly unfair for people who have no choice other than to use bus services to be paying the price for the excesses and failures of bankers.“
“I fell that as a society we should be protecting the right for those reliant on public transport to get about. As well as being devastating for the drivers losing their jobs, these cuts will leave many elderly people trapped in their homes when they previously were able to get out and about. It is grotesquely unfair that in this day, with our huge relative wealth, we look to reducing the quality of life of those who need the most support to pay off debts.
A resident of Castletown, Mr Harris has spearheaded the STAR (Stop The Access Road) campaign, which opposes County Council plans to link the Newport Road with Foregate Street in order to make way for thousands of new houses to be built near the Castlefields estate. Mr Harris, 36, has repeated called for fresh thinking to solve the town’s traffic problem and says cuts to bus services will make matters worse.
“The dire traffic situation is the number one issue in Stafford – there are simply too many vehicles for the roads to cope with. Shops and businesses are suffering and the town is becoming less and less attractive to investors who would otherwise be creating much needed jobs here.
“These cuts are taking us in exactly the wrong direction. Stafford needs a better, more frequent and more affordable bus service, with more investment – not less. I understand that when it is completed, County Council employees working in the new Tipping Street offices will be expected to pay hundreds of pounds every year for a parking permit. We should be in a position where Stafford’s workers prefer to leave their cars at home because taking the bus was cheaper and more convenient.
I will continue to work towards better public transport in Stafford and practical solutions to the town’s dire traffic issues.”
