East Cornwall: Buses being cut across the area

Some Cornwall Councillors have said people are unable to get to work or access services due to bus route cuts.

Liberal Democrat Adrian Parsons said there had been "an element of dishonesty" in an announcement of £23.5million of funding from the Government on Monday.

A Cabinet member said his comments were "inflammatory and totally inappropriate".

The government funding is to bring fares down in a four year project.

Short hop fares will reduce by 20%, longer journeys will cost up to 40% less and some bus passes will be cut by nearly 50%, said the Department for Transport (DfT).

But Mr Parsons said there had been "an element of dishonesty" about the latest announcements from the council about bus services, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

He told a full council meeting: "There has been no mention of the many rural bus services that have been buried this week.

"We have many residents without a link to their local town or to their job."

One woman who uses the bus service between Launceston and Altarnun to get to work was told by the bus driver that they would end last Sunday, he said.

The councillor added: "This is happening right across east Cornwall.

"This lady will have to quit her job if she can't find another transport.

"We have made these areas unsustainable locations."

Philips Desmonde, Cabinet member for transport, said Mr Parsons' comments about dishonesty were "inflammatory and totally inappropriate".

He said that rural bus services were a "problem everywhere, not just East Cornwall" and said that there were "anomalies" in the service that he wanted to iron out.

However he said that the best way to keep services was to get people using them and said that the council wanted to increase the amount of people using public transport.

Other councillors including Edwina Hannaford and Julian Germann also told the meeting that bus services had been cut in recent years.

Cornwall Council and DfT have been asked to comment.

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