Leighton bus route backlash may bring in changes council admits

New bus routes introduced last month, may be reconsidered

A petition against the changes, which were brought in last month, was presented to Central Beds councillors and bus company Arriva at a public meeting on May 31. Two more meetings, in the town centre and Linslade area are planned.

Residents said they were struggling to get to work, the town centre, schools, the local GPs and hospital visits because of the changes.

After the meeting a Central Bedfordshire Council spokesperson said: “On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, a new bus service operated by Arriva was introduced to Leighton Buzzard for residents to hop-on and off buses for free until Christmas.

“We secured a contribution from developers (Section 106 money) to help fund the new routes and include new developments in the town that were previously without a bus service.

“The new routes are more extensive than before, running later into the evening and on Sundays. We apologise to any residents who did not feel adequately informed of the new service and for any disruption this may have caused.

“We welcome the bus users’ meetings that have taken place, and those planned for later this month, as an opportunity to hear feedback on the changes.”

Cllr Tracey Wye, the new Executive Member for Sustainability and Climate Resilience, attended the first meeting and encouraged people to email [email protected] explaining their circumstances.

She said: "Central Bedfordshire Council acknowledges by creating a more extensive bus network parts of the former routes are no longer served, and this has created problems for some residents.

"Once the council has received feedback from all three public meetings, we can review the services and, where appropriate and possible, seek to make improvements."

The council said nationally bus usage is falling, and operators are reporting many routes are becoming commercially unviable.

The spokesman added: “We hope Leighton Buzzard can buck this trend by recovering its pre-pandemic passenger numbers through servicing more areas and encouraging people to trial using buses with the free journeys.”

A timetable leaflet of the new service has been delivered to every household in the town. For more information on the new services visit the Arriva website: www.arrivabus.co.uk/.