Bus routes end as talks fail

Three Shropshire bus services were ending today after last-ditch negotiations to save them failed. The routes were commercial services operated by Horrocks bus company.

The firm said at the beginning of July it could not make them viable.

The withdrawal of the 860, 773 and 745 routes means there is now no bus service from Bishop's Castle to Wellington and no service from Bishop's Castle and Clun to Newtown or Ludlow.

Residents appealed to Shropshire Council to subsidise the service, but discussions between Horrocks and the council failed to find a solution.

Resident Margaret Wilson described the move as "ridiculous". She said that the services were "very popular" and regularly used with a lot of local people.

She said: "There are a lot of disabled and elderly people with no access to cars who rely on those buses to go shopping.

"It needs the transport people at Shropshire Council to have their car keys taken away and for them to get around for a week with no car."

She added that the alternative was to use the county's link buses, which she claims are unreliable.

Councillor Martin Taylor-Smith, Shropshire Council's Cabinet member for strategic planning and transport, said: "We are disappointed that an agreement could not be reached with Horrocks.

"These services are commercially operated. The decision to de-register these routes is purely a commercial one by the operator due to low passenger numbers."

Another bus contractor has offered to run the services for £25,000 but this would severely limit what else the committee could achieve during the year.