Schools back–official

 

SCHOOL bus services due to be axed next month have been saved in an eleventh-hour 'common-sense gesture'.

Council and Citybus work together to reinstate school bus services

Plymouth City Council and Plymouth Citybus have been working together to reinstate a number of school bus services from September.

The Cabinet Member for Transport, Mark Coker, the Cabinet Member for Children and Young People Nicky Williams and the new managing director for Plymouth Citybus, Richard Stevens met to discuss concerns about the services and are now working in partnership to meet the needs of the city.

Councillor Coker said:”After receiving many calls from worried parents we raised the concerns with Plymouth Citybus and I’m very pleased we have reached an agreement and the buses will be reinstated. This is great news and we look forward to more talks with Citybus to improve community travel over the coming months.”

Councillor Williams said:“I’m delighted that Citybus have decided to reverse their decision. I’m hopeful that this signals a closer working partnership between the Council and Citybus to meet the needs of young people who rely on the bus network to travel around the city. This is one of our priorities and we will call a Young Persons’ Travel Summit with bus companies that will explore ways of supporting young people to get around the city.”

Richard Stevens Managing Director said, “working with the City Council I am delighted that we have managed to secure these school services.”

The buses which will be reinstated are with a minor timing change is 101, 102, 104, 109, 115, with the following services 112, 118, 142 generally unchanged. Services 103, 110, 116, 29S and 61S will not be reinstated but are largely covered by other services. There will be an on-going review to ensure the services remain viable.

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