Recently the reduction in service to the X51 bus service between Dorchester and Bridport has been reported.

Extinction Rebellion Bridport have highlighted this and we in Dorchester & District Labour Party have also been campaigning against the cuts.

I picked up a copy of the new timetable from the Tourist Information Centre in Dorchester this week.

I was astounded to see that the first bus from Bridport to Dorchester on weekdays is at 07.05 arriving at Dorchester South at 07.52 thence two-hourly, the last at 17.13 arriving at 17.55.

In the opposite direction the first bus from Dorchester South is at 08.16 arriving at Bridport at 08.55 thence two-hourly. The last is at 18.20 arriving in Bridport at 19.05.

On Sundays there is no service at all between Dorchester and Bridport full stop.

Dorchester and Bridport are the two biggest towns in west Dorset and surely deserve a better service than this?

How are customers supposed to get to work, go to the Dorset County Hospital or travel by rail to London for a day out? The buses are supposed to be linked to the rail network at Dorchester?

Investment and subsidies have been cut by austerity.

We in the Dorchester & District Labour Party believe that control of routes and fares should be returned to local communities in our case Dorset Council. Also rural services should be reinstated.

Climate change is involved as we are supposed to be encouraging the use of public transport and discouraging the use of cars to constrain the use of fossil fuels?

Personally I would go further and renationalise the bus networks and making them a service for all again. Labour have vowed to renationalise the sick railway networks but if it helps stop climate change let’s do the buses as well.

These services are not good enough.

Barry Thompson

Chairman

Dorchester & District Labour Party