PUBLIC transport campaigners are feeling uplifted following a ‘well-attended’ meeting in Pershore.
Vale Bus and Rail is optimistic about the future of public transport in Worcestershire following a meeting on April 11.
Around 70 members of the public attended the meeting alongside councillors and bus operators. A number of topics were discussed, including complicated bus timetables, out-of-date information, a lack of publicity, and more.
After attending the meeting, Nik Price, cabinet member with responsibility for highways and transport at Worcestershire County Council, said he completely agreed with the comments around bus timetables, being that they are often far more complex than they need to be and that in itself can be a barrier to use.
He added: “A huge thank you to the team at Vale Bus and Rail, and the Mayor for hosting such a well-organised and genuinely productive forum. The turnout speaks for itself, and it was really encouraging to see such strong engagement from residents across Pershore and the surrounding villages.
“I found the session extremely valuable. It was constructive, grounded in real experiences, and exactly the kind of open dialogue we need if we are going to make meaningful improvements to public transport across the county. There was a lot of useful feedback shared, and it is important we capture that properly and turn it into action.”
During the meeting, residents of Defford, Wadborough, Fladbury, Copthorne, and Charlton, all complained about their travel needs not being met, saying ‘they were now totally isolated from the local bus network’.
Residents of Drakes Broughton also raised issues around bus stop access, with the nearest bus stop on the main road, up to a mile away from the centre of the village.
VBR chair, Julian Palfrey, said: “We were very impressed by the numbers attending the meeting and the genuine and constructive comments of users. We were also very encouraged by the positive response of Councillor Price, who was not only willing to listen but to take up a number of issues raised, together with the offer of an early meeting with the council’s public transport team to help progress initiatives.
“We also had a great response to a survey form distributed at the meeting to indicate people’s existing travel patterns and their travel needs, with over 50 completed and returned. We will be assessing these to assist our representations and input to the county council and the public transport team.”
