Public dissatisfied with Surrey bus services

2.03.00pm GMT Thu 9th Dec 2004

The Lib Dems will continue to campaign for decent bus services throughout Surrey

Bus services in Surrey are so poor under the current Tory administration at Surrey County Council, that last year 2 out of every 3 residents were unhappy with the their record, according to a recent survey.

This is hardly surprising, with cuts in bus services, no progress on the Pegasus project for school buses and now a delay in starting work on a Transportation Coordination Centre intended to improve transport availability in the County.

The recommendation of the Transportation Select Committee to start work immediately on assessing the business case for a Transportation Coordination Centre, that could also save money, was initially turned down by the Tory-run Executive.

However, following pressure from the Lib Dem group, the Executive has done a U-turn and, surprisingly, has now "found the money", according to Cllr. Janet Maines, the Lib Dem Spokesman on Transportation, who is a member of the Best Value Review team set up by the Transportation Select Committee.

Also due to pressure from the Lib Dems, and the public at large, money has been found to retain the current level of bus services until September. This may perhaps be related to the fact that the County Council elections are next May!

"Over £1.3million has already been spent on consultants and planning, trying to keep a hollow manifesto promise of '100 American Style yellow school buses' made at the last County Council election", Mrs Maines added. "The Tory administration is still living in the hope that the government will pick up the bill for most of the cost of a 'pilot scheme', but this would operate in just a few schools in the Guildford area".

The Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign for the continuation of bus services throughout the County, not only for the benefit of people who do not have access to a car, but also to reduce the congestion that costs the County millions of pounds a year.