Bus users say it’s a disgrace that Trentbarton plans to cut a major service in Nottinghamshire. The bus provider plans to cut its 141 service from September 4.
The bus provides a route which connects in Sutton-in-Ashfield Hucknall, Mansfield and Nottingham. Trentbarton has said the 141 service has been struggling since the pandemic. They had previously reduced its services in the evening but due to the services not carrying sufficient customers they have decided to withdraw the route altogether from September.
Those who rely on the 141 bus service are upset over Trentbarton’ s decision to axe the service. Leon Feller, from Blidworth, a village east of Mansfield, says that route allows people to get around the villages in Ashfield.
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The 21-year-old said: “I live in Blidworth and it’s the only bus to Nottingham - it doesn't affect me but it does my nan. Blidworth from Nottingham is quite a distance and has no connecting buses. It’s more the elderly and the school kids, they get on the bus. It brings them all around Stanton Hill and Skegby.”
There’s been many concerns raised about the plans from residents and politicians. An online petition calling for the plan to be dropped has had over 3,000 signatures. Nottinghamshire County Council says it is looking at alternatives to make sure thousands of residents are not left out.
Rob Bailey, 47, from Skegby told Nottinghamshire Live that it’s a shame that the 141 is due to be scrapped. Mr Bailey said: “I do rely on it. What are they going to do about pensioners, and people who have an appointment at the job centre or hospital. I use it quite often. It's a shame really. Really shameful. It’s a disgrace.”
Yvonne Taylor, from Sutton-in-Ashfield shared her concerns over the cut of the service. The 75-year-old said: “It’s not nice, I think they have the bus to Sutton but not Mansfield and Nottingham. It’s not very good. The ones that come from Mansfield, and come from Nottingham they’re going to miss out on the 141. It’s not very good. Let’s just see what happens and gets sorted.”
Graham Greaves, 80, who has lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield his whole life said: “I don’t rely on it but a lot of people use it. I’ve got relations and I use it but it’s not essential. A lot of people use it going to school and work. If it stops you wouldn’t be able to go on it.”
Jeff Counsell, managing director of Trentbarton, said: “We are sorry we must make these changes, but in order to continue to deliver our other services we cannot afford to absorb the losses made by these routes, which simply do not carry sufficient customers.
“The routes affected had been struggling before Covid and have not seen the bounce back in numbers other services have seen. The silver lining in what was a very difficult decision is the extra drivers we can put onto our other services which will mean much fewer cancellations and a significantly improved reliability.
“The changes will enable us to run more services, more frequently, on the journeys that most people need, growing customer numbers and making them more sustainable.” He added the decision comes as the Bus Recovery Grant, a financial Government support package for struggling bus services, comes to an end in the autumn."
Ashfield’s Council Leader Jason Zadrozny has written to the Chief Executive of Stagecoach and invited the company to look at taking over the 141 bus service.
Councillor Zadrozny, who has arranged a meeting with Trentbarton’s managing director on Monday afternoon, said: “I will be asking Trentbarton to think again at the meeting I’ve organised next week. They have run down the 141 bus service. In some weeks – more buses are cancelled than actually run. This has obviously led to lower than expected passenger numbers. If you run a poor bus service – you get a poor number of passengers. It’s not rocket science.
“I have therefore contacted Stagecoach and requested a meeting to look at various options about taking over the 141. Run properly – this can be a profitable route – the number of residents supporting the campaign shows that. I will making these points clear to them and will be inviting them to join me on the bus to see for themselves the potential of this service.”
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