21/4/2009 - Trial shows bus service has no long-term future

A bus service from Nenthead to Newcastle will cease to be supported by Cumbria County Council after a six-month trial failed to prove it has a long-term future.

Financial support for the 888 service is being stopped at the end of this month due to passenger targets not being met. The targets –set by the county council - were a condition of the trial becoming permanent.

These targets were:

* At least 50 per cent of the cost of the service to be covered by fares.

* An average of at least 14 passengers per trip between Nenthead and Haydon Bridge.

* At least five passengers travelling the route on a regular basis for work purposes. 

When the 888 was originally taken off the timetable, due to a lack of passengers, Cumbria County Council and Northumberland County Council listened to the concerns of residents who wanted a registered bus to allow them to travel to work and agreed to fund the six-month trial starting in early November to enable local people to prove the service should be retained.

During the trial the bus, operated by the Alston-based firm Wright Brothers, has been running from Monday to Friday, leaving Nenthead at 7am and arriving in Newcastle for 8.45am. The return journey leaves Newcastle at 5.15pm –an hour later than the original 888 to better suit people commuting for work - getting into Nenthead at 6.50pm.

The annual cost of running the route is £56,100 or £220 a day, less revenue collected on the service.

With a target of 50 per cent of the cost of the service to be covered by fares, including concessions, £110 needed to be taken on the bus each day, but over the course of the trial this has averaged around only £40 –well below the required figure.

As none of the targets has been met, Wright Brothers have been informed that the contract will terminate on Friday, May 1.

Councillor Alan Clark, Cumbria County Council’s cabinet member for passenger transport, said: "When the six-month trial kicked off last year it was made clear to people that it was a case of use it or lose it, and that passengers had to support the service in sufficient numbers for it to continue running on a permanent basis.

"We agreed to fund the trial because the local community in the Alston and Nenthead area voiced strong opinions when the service was removed, so we listened to what they were saying and gave them the chance to prove it should continue to get financial support.

"Unfortunately this hasn’t happened, so we can sadly no longer fund a route which is simply not financially viable."

ENDS

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