Petitioners have raised concerns about the future of a bus service.
On Monday (September 8), Councillor Claire Dowling, East Sussex County Council’s lead member for transport and environment, considered a petition connected to changes made to the number 51 bus service between Eastbourne and Tunbridge Wells earlier this year.
The service, which also stops in Hailsham and Heathfield, was amended in late March, with operator Stagecoach moving the then half-hourly service to an hourly timetable.
Started in early March by Heathfield student Erin Wigham, the petition had called on the council to intervene and prevent the change from moving ahead. It had been signed by more than 1,700 people at time of publication.
Prior to the meeting, council officers had recommended Cllr Dowling not to support the petition’s request, which was interpretated to be a request to revert the change.
In a report, officers noted how this recommendation was based on the fact the service had been operating (and continues to operate) at a financial loss for the bus company. To keep it running half-hourly, they said, would require a subsidy from the council, which it could not do without additional funding or other bus services losing out.
Officers had also noted how the bus company has even announced plans to further reduce the service’s frequency, which Stagecoach says is intended to improve punctuality by giving drivers more time to increase their journeys.
In light of this recommendation, Ms Wigham called on the council to work with petitioners to address their concerns around the service’s reliability.
Ms Wigham said: “What I would like to make very clear is that the petition is showing that passengers have less confidence in Stagecoach and there is a growing concern about the proposed changes to the timetable, particularly regarding reliability and punctuality.
“While I do sympathise with the financial situation, what I would like the council to do is consider these concerns from passengers.”
Ms Wigham went on to ask council officers to pass on a number of questions to the bus company, including some around its future plans for the service and the service’s performance over the past few months. Cllr Dowling confirmed officers would do so.
Similar points were made by Green Heathfield councillor Anne Cross, who said: “As I think Erin has already indicated, were we to produce this petition now, we might frame it slightly differently, because we do all recognise the financial situation.
“We do recognise that perhaps half-hourly is expecting a lot. Although Heathfield and Mayfield are not small villages, they are medium-sized market towns and we have a significant population and a significant population that is actually relying on this service to get to their appointments.”
She added: “These residents who are relying on this service are going to college in Eastbourne, they are going to hospital appointments, dental appointments in Tunbridge Well, they’re going to Tunbridge Wells to catch trains.”
Cllr Cross went on to say the biggest desire of these passengers was for the service to be more reliable and called on the council to help achieve this goal.
Conservative councillor Bob Bowdler, whose division includes parts of the bus service’s route, suggested smaller vehicles may help achieve this goal.
He said: “Perhaps a smaller or more suitable vehicle, such as an electric option, may perform the task more efficiently and cost effectively, rather than the commonly-used, diesel-powered, double-decker buses, which are not designed for our narrow lanes.
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“Due to their size and design these larger vehicles often encounter difficulties navigating congested areas — such as Mayfield High Street — or negotiating sharp bends, such as those in Rotherfield. We urge the bus companies to provide a modern service tailored to our rural communities’ needs, rather than replicating city models from the likes of Manchester and Birmingham.”
Similar suggestions were made by a number of other councillors whose residents live along the route. Officers pushed back on this argument, however, saying a smaller vehicle would not be able to accommodate the numbers of passengers using some sections of the route at siome times.
Another common concern among councillors was how the changes to the route’s timetable — both those already implemented and upcoming — had or would discourage people from using the bus and so harm its viability.
Ultimately, Cllr Dowling agreed the officers’ recommendation, noting how it committed the council to working with Stagecoach to identify and implement highways measures which reduce service delays and improve “service timekeeping”.
Cllr Dowling said: “This is a very, very long route. It is a very winding route as well … so I can understand why there may be more passengers either end and not so many in the middle.
“But I also understand that if there is an issue with timing then passengers will lose confidence; they won’t want to use the bus and they will revert back to using cars, those that can.
“So we do need to work with Stagecoach to make those timings reliable, so that we can get passengers on the bus. But … I need to respond to the petition. And the petition was very clear, to change the 51 bus service to Eastbourne from Tunbridge Wells back to half-hourly from hourly and I think even Erin understands why I do agree with the [officers’] recommendations.”
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