A town councillor has warned this week that many bus services in the Burnham-On-Sea area are under threat due to the County Council’s budget cuts.
Cllr Chris Williams says six services in Burnham and Highbridge are at risk because the council is due to announce huge cuts to the subsidies being paid to local bus companies.
Cllr Williams, pictured below holding several bus timetables, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “If these cuts are implemented, this could be a very difficult time for the town as thirty per cent of residents do not have access to private transport.”
He said that while no final decisions have yet been made, the routes threatened are Service 670 (Burnham / Wells / Wookey Hole), 113 (Highbridge / Burnham / Berrow) and 102 (Puriton / Burnham / Weston).
Cllr Williams believes the proposed cuts could also see Route 112 having no buses between Highbridge and Weston after 6.20pm.
Also, Route 21A from Burnham to Taunton may no longer operate on Sundays and after the mid-evening.
He said: “The 113 service in particular serves many estates with elderly populations and links the railway station with two medical services, three schools, a community hospital and the town centre.”
“Furthermore, the routes from Weston being large numbers of holidaymakers into the town from the Brean holiday camps which would adversely affect Burnham’s remaining tourist trade.”
It is feared that the 20 per cent reduction to the bus service operators’ grants, which amounted to £4.8m in the whole of the West Country last year, will also push up fares as well as reduce services.
South West Transport Network spokesman David Redgewell said: “Evening and Sunday services are under threat and some services could be lost completely. These are the worst cuts for public transport since the Beeching era.”
