Bus services in North Shropshire have been "reduced to a dire state" in recent years, an MP has told Parliament.
Speaking as the Government announced its Bus Services Bill this week, Helen Morgan MP raised concerns that a Market Drayton residents face a five-hour round bus trip if they wish to travel to the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford.
Speaking as the Government announced its Bus Services Bill this week, Helen Morgan MP raised concerns that a Market Drayton residents face a five-hour round bus trip if they wish to travel to the Princess Royal Hospital (PRH) in Telford.
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00:00Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker.
00:01Can I just declare an interest as a Vice President of the LGA and also a granddaughter of a London bus driver?
00:07Bus services have been reduced to a dire state in my Northropshire constituency in recent years,
00:12and most drastically under the watch of the previous Conservative Government.
00:15We're one of the worst-served constituencies in England for public transport,
00:19having seen a reduction of a staggering 63% of our bus miles since 2015,
00:25and that compares to an English average reduction of just 19%.
00:28A person in Market Drayton who wants to get to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford,
00:33which is a 20-minute car journey, is looking at something like a five-hour round-trip on the bus.
00:39There's only one service that operates on a Sunday in the whole county between the Market Towns of Oswestry and Chester,
00:46so in short, the current situation is unacceptable.
00:50Just before recess, I visited Lakeland's Academy from Ellesmere at the Parliament Education Centre
00:55and answered the students' questions.
00:57One young woman asked me,
00:59what are we doing to make bus services better?
01:01Because she couldn't go with her friends to any after-school clubs,
01:04due to her bus not running back to St Martin's past 3.30pm.
01:09I recently met the Oswestry Youth Forum, and they raised similar concerns.
01:12The situation that young people in rural communities are now presented with is a childhood confined to a small village or town they live in,
01:20left with a lack of choice over their education, a lack of opportunity for socialising and taking part in activities outside of school,
01:27and shrinking their horizons.
01:29Ultimately, their options for employment can be significantly contained,
01:33unless, of course, their parents can afford to give them a car.
01:37Meanwhile, older or disabled constituents who are no longer able to drive or simply can't afford to
01:43are fully dependent on family members and friends to get them to where they need to be.
01:48And I think everybody in this House would agree with me that this is driving deep and fundamental inequality,
01:54as well as holding back the economy in rural areas.
01:57That's why I'm broadly supportive of this bill.