RESIDENTS have spoken out about the ‘horrendous knock-on effects’ proposed bus service cuts will have on the community’s most vulnerable.

As reported in the Echo, there are plans to slash bus services around Dorchester and rural Dorset from 35 to just seven in a budget-cutting move by Dorset County Council.

Angered by the proposals, members of the Dorchester Social Stroke Club are urging the council not to leave its members isolated by a lack of transport.

Committee member Maureen Whitfield said: “Our main concern is that with a club like this if you lose the buses we lose our members. Some people will just sit at home all day if they didn’t come here. Sometimes it’s the only thing people do, coming down here in the afternoon to have a cup of coffee or to play a game of cards.”

The self-funded club, which provides stroke sufferers with social and speech rehabilitation, is already subsidising the cost of taxis for many members in the wake of a rapidly deteriorating bus network.

With a return journey averaging £20 to the outer villages committee members say there is an ‘economic limit’ to how many taxis they can send.

Speaking at the stroke club, Jill Gardner said: “The knock-on effect of taking public transport away is just horrendous. If elderly people do become more isolated because they cannot get to clubs like ours it is going to have a knock-on effect on people’s mental health. How will people get to hospital appointments? It is taking away people’s independence.”

The proposals, due to come into effect in July, come as the council seek to save £1.85m from the public and schools transport budget this year on top of the £500,000 saved from subsidised bus routes in the previous 12 months.

Services not up for tender include the 1, 2 and 6 Dorchester town services, the number 44 between West Bay and Bridport, the 71 Lyme Regis service, the 101 Crossways and Dorchester, the 210 from Litton Cheney to Bridport, the 211 Poundbury to Weymouth route, the number 212 from Dorchester to Yeovil and the 311 between the county town and Blandford.

Members of Dorchester Social Stroke Club said they are ‘more than happy’ to pay extra for services so long as they are not taken away, fearing that cutting once service will only put a strain on others.

Committee member Jackie Sherfield said:” If you take the buses away, pubs and care homes in the villages that need evening staff can’t get people in because the last bus that goes through the village at 5pm. It also means more people driving. More cars on the road means more pollution and more congestion in the town.”

Dorset County Council say the proposals come following a comprehensive public consultation last year.

Between May and July, 2,605 residents responded to the consultation, with a reported 54 per cent agreeing with the council’s approach. 

Cllr Peter Finney, cabinet member for environment, highways and infrastructure, said: “We have carried out a wide-ranging review of services in order to get the best possible outcome for local people within the available the funding.

 “Our approach aims to develop a sustainable transport network for Dorset by prioritising the remaining subsidy on routes that serve the most people and contribute the most to Dorset’s economy. 

“We intend to link special school and adult social care transport in a way makes best use of our own buses and means they can be used by the community when running to and from schools and day centres.  

“We are continuing to encourage the development of more community-based transport schemes for social and leisure purposes. We have developed a toolkit and offered grants for community groups to start their own transport schemes, which have led to a number of successful start-ups and a lot of interest from communities.”