Isle of Man election: Bus debate drives Ayre and Michael meeting

Eight candidates standing in Ayre and Michael in the upcoming House of Keys election have been probed on a range of issues at a public meeting.

Tim Baker, Sosthene Boussougou, Alfred Cannan, Phil Corkill, Tim Johnston, Duncan Livingstone, Paul Weatherall and Madeleine Westall are vying for a seat.

Transport, climate change, mental health and taxes were all debated at the meeting at Jurby Primary School.

In 2019, scheduled buses in the area were replaced with on-demand services.

Tim Baker (independent), who has been the infrastructure minister since June 2020, said the dial-a-ride service was brought in by his predecessor but agreed that the bus services in Jurby needed improving.

He said when the department was told to cut costs, the reality was "the most under-utilised and least profitable routes are in this constituency".

However, he said "it has not worked well for the people of Jurby" and he wanted to put more money into "the public bus service system, because it's so important for social inclusion for both young and old".

Sosthene Boussougou (independent) said: "Every area of the island should be served by buses cost effectively.

"It has to be cost effective for the government, I understand that, but it is important that we find a way to serve the different areas in the north."

He also supported scrapping bus fares for students on the Isle of Man.

Alfred Cannan (independent), who has been the treasury minister since 2016, agreed that "the current system is not working" and that it was "holding people back, particularly in Jurby. It needs to change".

He said he would look into making changes and "deliver a much more accountable and transparent transport policy that works for everybody across the island, but specifically delivers more regular services for Jurby in an appropriate manner".

Phil Corkill (independent) called for the government to "bring back the bus service".

He said: "I don't know what else to say to be quite honest, we had one, it worked, they took it away. They spent about £1.9m on minibuses to save money.

"It just doesn't work, so just bring back the bus service."

Tim Johnston (independent) said he had spoken to a lot of people in the parish and the bus service was the "biggest issue for people".

"People in Jurby feel utterly isolated" and they "feel forgotten about and I think it's appalling", he said.

"The bottom line is you need an MHK who will listen to you, that's what I want to do."

Duncan Livingstone (independent) agreed with others that the buses should return and suggested the money to fund it could come from the Active Travel strategy.

"Use some of that to make the buses much cheaper, if not free," he said.

"We possibly couldn't afford all travel to be free, but certainly we should start with commuter buses and school buses being free."

Paul Weatherall (Liberal Vannin) said the bus services were "inadequate", especially from villages into the main towns.

"Providing bus services in rural areas isn't easy. There are lots of different systems in various rural areas in England that we could perhaps learn from," he said.

He also suggested liaising with taxi drivers could be a way forward and said it would be cheaper for government to subsidise taxi fares.

Madeleine Westall (independent) said she struggled with the bus service and public transport was one of her key priorities.

"I have lived remotely all my life and I don't drive. So I can fully empathise with those who try to take the seven minutes past six bus in the morning, to find that it's not a regular service," she said.

"It's those little things in life that make a real difference."

The eight candidates also discussed mental health, medicinal cannabis, tax levels and coastal erosion.

The two seats in Ayre and Michael have been held by Tim Baker and Alfred Cannan for the past five years.

Polls will be open between 08:00 and 20:00 BST on 23 September.

BBC Isle of Man will be featuring all 12 of the constituencies for the House of Keys in the forthcoming general election during the run up to the poll on 23 September.