Last post may sound for Dales community bus (From Craven Herald)

Last post may sound for Dales community bus

3:10pm Sunday 15th February 2009

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A ride on the “post bus” could be a thing of the past after April.

The community bus service has been run by the Royal Mail twice-daily from Skipton to Malham for more than 15 years and has been a lifeline for many elderly people who have no other form of transport.

It is part-funded by North Yorkshire County Council, but this is being withdrawn at the end of the financial year. A county council spokesman said the authority had contracts with the Royal Mail to provide four post bus services, one of which was Skipton to Malham.

“These services exist because they offer a cost-effective solution to improved access for the areas served. Towards the end of last year, the Royal Mail advised us that they wanted a significant increase in the amount they received for the Skipton-Malham service and the Ripon-Masham service,” he said. “Good practice suggests that we should consider the extent to which the services would continue to represent good value for money for the council.

“Our assessment is that the passenger usage on Skipton-Malham is not sufficient to justify the price requested as the subsidy per passenger journey would be more than £7.50. We have discussed the situation with the Royal Mail. However, they have decided for commercial reasons to terminate the agreement.”

One regular user who will suffer is 87-year-old Rob Foster, who is registered blind.

Mr Foster, from Airton, said the post bus was a “lifeline for the fragile and feeble – and other – residents of the Dale who have no car” and was outstandingly well run. It has low step access and virtually operates a door-to-door service.

He said: “The postman has to come each day up the Dale in any case and we, as passengers on the return journey, pay our own fare.

“This post bus is our only practical means of travelling to Skipton and it also carries many visitors to and from Malham, which is eternally popular for hikers visiting national park territory.

“By travelling in a group we are sparing many separate car journeys, which must be good environmentally.”

Christine Broadhead, manager of Age Concern North Craven, said she was upset to hear the service was in jeopardy, particularly when so many elderly people relied on it.

“It is often the most vulnerable in our communities who are affected by the erosion of services. The post bus is crucial to those who rely on it to access services and it helps them to remain independent in their own homes,” she said.

The Royal Mail said that while it appreciated the difficulties of travel in rural areas, its priority was to deliver mail.

A spokesman said: “Royal Mail, in partnership with county councils, provides a number of post bus services in remote rural areas and makes every effort to sustain these services, with appropriate council subsidy.

“However, Royal Mail is first and foremost a postal operator, not a transport company, and our top priority is the collection and delivery of mail. The Skipton service has very low passenger numbers, averaging around one per journey, and the subsidy from the local authority does not make it financially viable. As a result, the service will cease as of April 4.”

The county council spokesman said the authority would try to find other ways of providing public transport for the communities involved. But Mr Foster wants a re-think. He said: “When having served this country for a lifetime, it is surely the least the country and council can do to ensure that our essential mobility is not sacrificed when there is so much extravagant waste of money in this country today.”

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