Into Town bus scheme has failed

Boston’s Into Town bus service is apparently not at "immediate risk" of being scrapped - even though the government plans to cut public transport subsidies.
The Department for Transport has to cut 25 to 40 per cent off the Bus Service Operators £15.9 billion grant which reimburses bus firms for the fuel duty they pay for local services.
Lincolnshire County Council said the Into Town service was performing well and on target for being commercially viable at the end of its contract life.
"While it is difficult to predict the severity of any future funding constraints, and therefore to give any categorical assurances, given its performance to date it is unlikely this service would be at immediate risk.”
As you might expect, we are not throwing our caps up in the air at this news.
We think that a service such as Into Town fills a much needed want for many people in Boston.
But the evidence suggests that it is not taking cars off the road, which is the main reason it was introduced.
And before someone takes us to task over this claim, we must point out that we have reached this conclusion using figures provided by the council itself.
The borough’s latest bulletin claims that the number of cars parked in Boston has increased by 24.2% over the past five years.
Between April 2005 and March 2006 1,027,325 cars parked in Boston - a year-on-year rise which rose to 1,257,699 between April 2009 and March 2010.
This increase represents an extra 248,374 vehicles parking in Boston when compared with the 2005/06 figures.
In other words, even more motorists are now using their cars to get in and out of Boston since the Into Town bus service was introduced in July 2008.
Meanwhile, the social cost of the service is becoming increasing apparent.
Not only do the buses create pollution from noise and fuel fumes, the damage to the surface of Strait Bargate is becoming increasing obvious.
Tracks crushed into the paving blocks by the bus wheels are becoming more and more noticeable and it won’t be long before the increasing unevenness of the surface causes someone to trip and fall.
Meanwhile, the bus drivers are becoming increasingly contemptuous towards pedestrians. We’ve noticed the use of the horn as well as warning tones if people don’t get out of the way quickly enough, and instances of aggressive driving on other occasions.
Let’s hope we keep the service. But at the same time, let’s not treat it as sacrosanct.
It needs to be routed away from Strait Bargate, and to argue against that is to ignore common sense and public health and safety.

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