'Bus Stopping' some routes in Leicester could go

  • Central
Rural bus routes in Leicester are under threat Credit: PA Pictures

Hundreds of people have signed petitions opposing plans to scrap some bus services in Leicestershire.

The county council is proposing to replace nine subsidised routes with dial-a-ride services which have to be booked in advance. It also wants to cut services on three other routes.

The changes would save the council £750,000 a year.But the plans have angered many villagers who say the buses are a lifeline.

Three women from Fenny Drayton, in Leicestershire, who rely on the No. 7 bus service to Nuneaton. They say the proposed dial-a-ride service is no replacement.

There's been particularly strong opposition among passengers on the No. 7 route which serves villages in the Hinckley and Bosworth district.

One woman in Fenny Drayton, whose husband has Alzheimer's, told ITV Central that she relies on the bus to go shopping in nearby Nuneaton. She says, if the service goes, she will lose respite time away from home.

The consultation poster in the village Credit: ITV Central

Tony Kirk, from Leicestershire County Council, said there were already 30 dial-a-ride services in the county.

He told ITV Central they were becoming increasingly popular because they collect people from their door.The council is expected to make a decision on future services in November. Any changes would probably not come in until the second half of next year.