June 21, 2011 10.33 am This story is over 161 months old

City Council objects to new bus timetables

Under scrutiny: The new bus timetables will be passed on to the city Council’s new committee for further analysis.

The City of Lincoln Council has objections to the recently reformed bus timetables in Lincoln, due to the “significant impact” it is having on residents.

The first Labour Executive of the year felt that the reduction or removal of 22 bus routes is having an adverse effect of the city, particularly at weekends and evenings.

Councillors agreed on June 21 the new bus timetable needed to be further scrutinised by the newly formed Community Leadership Scrutiny Committee.

Due to a negative impact on the city, councillors questioned if public consultation had been thorough enough by Lincolnshire County Council.

It was also suggested the new timetables seemed to go “backwards” on the County Council’s Transport Strategy.

The cuts would even have an effect on the new late night Thursday shopping times, as many residents would not be able to get home.

Car ownership in and around Lincoln is quite low, with 22.8% of residents not having any access to a car, according to the 2001 census.

Congestion through the city is also a problem in Lincoln, so using public transport is encouraged by both councils.

However, the new subsides mainly scrap late night buses, meaning people cannot go out or get home without having to pay for taxis, which are considerably more expensive than buses.

City of Lincoln Council Leader Ric Metcalfe said: “People no longer work 9-5.

“I know a lot of people who travel on 7.45pm, 8.15pm buses who were finishing work often around the 7.30pm mark, of which there are a lot.”

The bus timetables in the city and across the county had to be scrapped by Lincolnshire County Council due to a cut in subsidy funding from government of £1 million (20%).

The council tried to protect the most frequented routes and times by removing lesser used routes out of the city.