MidlandRed.net

It has been announced that the first grants of HS2 money have been allocated. Worcs CC gets just under £3.5 million, which is to be used for new services, not to underpin existing ones. interesting times ahead!!! Info from Route One magazine.

https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/23 ... s-service/

I am terribly pessimistic about this, and have too many negative opinions to post here !!

( - BUT here's one ! -- How is the new town around Norton Parkway NOT going to make the traffic jams at the top of the London Road / Whittington. even worse / much worse ?? ).

As a bus "fan", I would like all the government monies to be used wisely to provide a sustainable optimum network ......

A friend of mine who doesn't drive, but has a bus pass said, tongue in cheek, when Worcestershire receives this money will I be able to have a pint in the City and come home on a late bus? He would like to go to Malvern on the bus in the evening and on Sundays and asked will the direct bus services be reinstated to our neighboring cities, Birmingham, Gloucester and Hereford? Of course we all know the answer is that insufficient passengers use these potential services - then why is there no national campaign aimed at car drivers to persuade them that using the bus is green and it might well save the planet from catastrophic global warming?

Finally, our beloved politicians claim buses are the most popular form of transport and deserve the cash from cancelled Northern leg of HS2 project, but have the likes of our well-heeled Prime Minister, who uses a private helicopter, or jet, to travel around the country, ever even set foot in a bus? I challenge the Cabinet to travel by bus from Worcester to say Inverness then reiterate that the bus is better than the train or short-haul air flight! On top of all this the general infrastructure of Britain's railways has been starved of cash by projects such as the Elizabeth Line and HS2 and is crying out for overdue upgrades, it is still the safest form of transport but the instances of signal failure, points failure, track circuit failure, rail defects, crumbling bridges and retaining walls has to be seen to be believed. Also, whatever happened to all the promised electrification schemes - most have been quietly dropped yet rail is the obvious green alternative to the car for medium and long journeys, with the bus being ideal for shorter urban journeys.

The money from Central Government is very real, but will the Local Authorities engage with the bus operators to see where the money is most needed to make real improvements, or will they use it to buy votes with headline grabbing schemes that aren't needed?

My monies are on the latter!

bmmoboy wrote: ↑

23:17 Saturday 28th October 2023

My monies are on the latter!

When it comes to Worcestershire County Council, I have to agree with you. However, on a more positive note I’ve heard Herefordshire Council are thinking about using some of their share of the money to extend some 420 journeys from Bromyard over the border to Worcester, and also to put the 476 back to pre-Covid frequency of every hour.