Bus firm to 'pull out of routes'

Bus passengers could be left without services

A bus company has announced plans to cut some services in Bedfordshire, but others could be saved with subsidies.

Stagecoach said that from November its hourly J1 route between Bedford and Flitwick would no longer run.

The rural route from Bedford to Harrold and Wymington was under threat unless the county council offered a grant.

Stagecoach said no decision had been finalised, but the announcement has been criticised by bus passengers and the council.

In a statement to the BBC, the company said: "Stagecoach East is not pulling out of the Bedford area, but changes are being made as a result of low passenger numbers.

"Bedfordshire County Council has the ability to support these services but has chosen not to do so at the present time.

"As such Stagecoach East has had to assess the network it provides."

More expensive

Bedfordshire's transport Councillor Tom Wootton said it was not the first time Stagecoach had threatened to stop running services.

He said: "We have been here before and those people around Biggleswade and Shefford will remember Stagecoach coming out of their services there, and a lot of people were very worried for some time."

Stagecoach has also stopped many services running through Bedford, so they now terminate in the town centre in an effort to improve punctuality.

The Bedford Bus Users Society said it was concerned with the situation which could affect many passengers.

"The implications are that previously if you used to have a direct service, now you have to changes buses," said the group's spokesman Frank Hendrix.

He also said fares would go up as direct services were split between two operators.