Bus operators and motorists need to support transport vision, councillors say

Lincolnshire County Councillors have questioned how plans for Lincoln’s transport future will encourage residents, bus companies and other partners to “buy in”.

Members of the Highway Scrutiny Committee discussed the Lincoln Transport Strategy, which includes projects such as new mobility hubs, extra bus lanes and changes to road priorities for cyclists.

It is led by Lincolnshire County Council in partnership with City of Lincoln Council, North Kesteven District Council and West Lindsey District Council.

Councillor Jackie Brockway said: “The buses worry me, this is a big issue for me and my residents. The bus company is scrapping routes, which is having a considerable impact on people getting into work.”

She said residents were forced to use their own cars with some losing their jobs because they could not find alternative transport.

“The fact is bus companies have absolutely refused to reinstate well-used routes and had a negative impact,” said Councillor Brockway.

“How are we going to get around a commercial decision by a bus company that is really going to impact on our strategy document and the emissions that will be associated with that?”

She later added: “This strategy is very dependent on compliance from a lot of other people over whom the council has no control.

“You see what’s happening with Coronavirus, everyone’s going to do their own thing and protect themselves regardless of what the community needs.”

However, project lead  Karl Gibson said there would “be an expectation” on partners to get involved.

He said: “The way the strategy is put together it’s very much a collaborative approach, it’s not about being a highway transport strategy it’s very much looking at the impact across service areas and the districts as a whole.

“It will not just be a LCC strategy, where it’s expected LCC will pay for the intervention.”

A resident who attended the meeting called for councillors to ensure they tackled the climate emergency, while councillors also called for more information on priority routes for bus and cycle priorities, the impact of other policies on the strategy and the cost of the strategy on emissions.

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