BUS passengers in the Vale are being urged to make their voices heard at a special transport forum to be held in Pershore next month.
Organised by campaign group Vale Bus and Rail, the meeting at Pershore Town Hall on Saturday, April 11, from 10am to 12noon aims to increase awareness and use of the existing bus network.
It also hopes to safeguard its future as well as encourage improved services in the town and buses linking Pershore to neighbouring villages in the Vale.
Fears have been expressed by the group about the future of local services and, in particular, the long-established Pershore PlumLine.
This continues to provide a popular and reliable service around the centre of town, its housing estates and on to Pinvin.
The current timetable, however, has been neglected, poorly publicised and frozen in time for 12 years despite a rapidly growing population and new housing estates, particularly in the northern part of the town.
Campaigners are frustrated that the timetable has not adapted to changing school times or to accommodate those wishing to connect with the much-improved hourly train service to London from Pershore Station.
Chair of Vale Bus and Rail, Julian Palfrey, said: “Lack of publicity and promotion also means that many residents are unaware of services such as the weekly bus operated by Cresswells of Evesham from Pershore to Cheltenham on Fridays serving the Combertons and Eckington or the Sunday buses operated by Stagecoach to and from Stratford.
“Some are even unaware of the half-hourly service to Worcester and Evesham on Mondays to Saturdays.
Vale Bus and Rail has been lobbying Worcestershire County Council to provide better coordination and integration of existing timetables to improve connections with other services and provide improved bus and rail links.
It has also urged for minimal cost improvements to service through retimings, reduction of dead mileage working and better use of existing resources.
According to Mr Palfrey, other timetables, such as the Village Hopper, provide vital services for shoppers from many smaller outlying villages into Pershore and Evesham, but the over-complicated timetables are customer-unfriendly and deter potential users.
“The views of residents are important in working to safeguard, maintain and develop a reasonable level of local timetabled services to ‘get people back on the buses’ – the main aim of the Government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan,” he added.
“Worcestershire County Council has over 9.3million in central government funding – with another £5million to follow this year – and needs to tackle the issue of increasing traffic congestion in our two towns of Pershore and Evesham, and the growing social isolation for both old and young alike caused by the lack of public transport in Vale villages.”
