Bus firm axes Melton services

Passengers are angry about plans to cut back on services between Melton Mowbray and both Loughborough and Nottingham.
Buses on Lincoln Road, Peterborough. Photo: Rowland HobsonBuses on Lincoln Road, Peterborough. Photo: Rowland Hobson
Buses on Lincoln Road, Peterborough. Photo: Rowland Hobson

Centrebus is reducing its bus trips between Melton and Loughborough - its Service 8 - to five a day.

The company’s Service 19 changes mean there will only be two-hourly trips between Nottingham and Melton instead of hourly services.

The amended timetables will come into force on August 13.

Melton resident Graham Adshead is particularly unhappy about the reduced Loughborough service.

He said: “Although most are acceptable the Number 8 to Loughborough is frankly not worth running.

“The first available shopping bus is at 12.47 which is not really a suitable time to go out as it is too late, especially on Tuesdays and Saturdays when the market is on.”

Another Melton resident, Jean Bowes, said: “They’ve cut the Nottingham buses right back which is going to cause a lot of inconvenience to people.

“The buses to Loughborough are already jam-packed on market days so it will be even busier with fewer buses.”

Centrebus said it had to make the reductions in services because of rising costs, reducing customer numbers and worsening traffic congestion, which have left some of the routes unsustainable.

The company recently decided to close its Saxby depot as a cost-cutting measure and operate services out of Grantham.

A Centrebus spokesperson said: “Action needed to be taken to ensure that our business remains on a firm footing for the future.

“Centrebus has worked closely with both Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council who are the local transport co-ordinators in their respective areas and have the ability to support local bus services that cannot be sustained on a commercial basis.”

The company announced this week that an agreement had been struck with Rutland Council to make a further amendment to its Service 19 bus.

The part of that service which runs between Oakham and Melton will be known now as the RF1 and will form a through service from Melton Mowbray to Corby.

Call 0116 410 5050 for more details about service changes.