- Target:
- Falkirk Council
- Region:
- United Kingdom
- Website:
- www.facebook.com
Thanks to everyone who signed and supported this campaign. Although the campaign continues it has helped to open discussions.
The Falkirk Councils decision to remove the subsidy from the X19 express bus service to Edinburgh has severe consequences for Bo’ness residents who are dependent on the service for employment, study, social, or entertainment and shopping.
Every resident who wants to visit Edinburgh by bus for any of the purposes now faces an increase in both fares and time.
Their journey will now have to be via Linlithgow and will add a £4.90 return fare from Bo’ness to Linlithgow to the £6.50 for the return fare from Linlithgow to Edinburgh. Making a total combined fare of £11.40 as compared to the Prentice Westwood X19 fare of £8.50, this represents a 34% increase.
Regular commuters will be even more severely hit as the current cost of a 28 day fare with Prentice Westwood on the X19 costs £125. The comparative cost of a ticket with First bus from Linlithgow to Edinburgh is £139.20 to which will have to be added 2X £2.70 singles per day (as the service is split between First and PW).
In the case of someone working a five day week it would make a grand total of £ 247.2 for the new combined service as opposed to current costs of £125 an increase over present costs a staggering 51 % increase.
These increases will be combined with an increase in return travel time by bus of over one hour.
This surely represents the most austere measures of the all their budget cuts.
Comparable Express Bus costs to Edinburgh
Grangemouth X909 £8.30 Citylink
Falkirk X38 £9.40 First Bus
Polmont X38 £9.40 First Bus
Bo’ness X19 £8.50 Prentice Westwood
Proposed alternative via PW Bo’ness to Linlithgow and FB Linlithgow to Edinburgh
Combined fare PW/FB £11.40
This will make Bo'ness the most expensive commute to Edinburgh in the East Falkirk District.
The Council Claim
The subsidy to run the X19 costs £100,000 per annum and that no other council supports an express bus service and that it is no longer affordable.
It claims that other Express bus services such the City Link via Grangemouth and the X38 via Linlithgow are both run without subsidy.
The council gets 80% of its income from the Scottish Government which has also insisted for the last seven years that councils operate a council tax freeze under penalty.
Council Tax is another potential revenue source. If the council were allowed to increase by even a small amount say 2% or 41 pence per week it could avoid some of the worst of the cuts the council is facing.
Where do we go from here?
We need to petition the council to reopen the budget decisions (this would require a 2/3 majority of Councillors including the support of all Bo’ness Councillors)
The petition should ask for retention of the subsidy to allow us to:
• Carry out investigations into alternative operators.
• Building the user base to run without subsidy.
We the undersigned hereby request Falkirk Council reverse its recent decision to remove the subsidy for the X19 express bus service at its Budget meeting held on the 11 February 2015.
We feel that it is important that the views and concerns of those affected are heard, which did not happen at the Budget meeting.
The Councils proposal to use the X38 service via Linlithgow would increase fares for a standard return by 34% and for daily commuters by 51%.and add one hour to journey time.
This would make the commute to and from Edinburgh the most expensive in East Falkirk.
We recognise the budgetary constraints and Council tax freeze imposed on the council however, we feel it is a short sighted policy to remove support for such an essential and strategic public transport service.
Retention of the subsidy would allow us time to:
• Access to the councils transport department to facilitate discussions with the current operator or new operators on ways to retain the service.
• Use the opportunity to campaign within the community for increased usage of the service.
The Save the X19 express bus service from Bo'ness to Edinburgh petition to Falkirk Council was written by Robert Jeffery and is in the category Roads & Transport at GoPetition.