Following the announcement last November that Ruddington’s only timetabled bus service to Keyworth (via Wysall, Willoughy and Widmerpool) was under threat, Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) has confirmed it’s being axed even sooner than envisaged – at the end of this week!
After Saturday 20th July our current, six-day-a-week 863 NottsBus Connect scheduled service is being scrapped by NCC, along with the 850, 852 and 853 routes, in favour of ‘DRT’ – Demand Responsive Transport.
From Monday 22nd July, prospective passengers from Ruddington and elsewhere will need to pre-book each journey they wish to make aboard a single new Central Rushcliffe ‘NottsBus On Demand’ service to travel to selected points in East Leake, Keyworth, Cotgrave and Gamston. This will be subject to availability and potentially run from 7am to 7pm on Mondays to Saturdays. DRT is like a less expensive ‘taxi service’ – although obviously not as flexible as booking a cab.
You can read how to book your bus journey in advance, either via their dedicated new app or using a telephone booking line, >>HERE<<.
Defending its decision, NCC says the latest casualties are approximately 80 now under-used bus routes it’s been funding which would otherwise be reduced or withdrawn by commercial operators because they are deemed no longer profitable. It claims these new DRTs, also covering other areas of Rushcliffe, Gedling, Broxtowe, Ashfield and Newark, will actually give residents more flexibility to travel anywhere between bus stops and designated points within operating zones at a time that is convenient to them.
Councillor Neil Clarke, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at NCC, said: “Nottinghamshire residents deserve a bus network that serves all our communities. A lot of people don’t realise that we have no legal obligation to provide local bus services or any other form of public transport, however, we understand the vital lifeline that these buses provide to many of our residents going about their daily lives and that is why we want to fulfil our pledge that all Nottinghamshire communities should have access to the wider bus network. We need to ensure that people who rely on local buses for essential services can continue to access them and by filling gaps in the bus network, we hope to make local transport even more attractive, convenient and accessible to encourage more people to choose the bus instead of their car.”
Cllr Clarke added: “The DRT services launched in the villages around Retford, Ollerton, Newark, Mansfield and West Rushcliffe have been a fantastic success and we’ve received amazing comments from customers who use the service, so we’re looking forward to rolling them out to other areas of Nottinghamshire to improve accessibility to work, training, health and leisure opportunities.”
Yet the cutbacks to NCT’s Navy 3 timetable, and the axing of CT4N’s number 22 and 23 services, perhaps tell a different story – one where increasing numbers of residents and village workers are choosing to hop into their cars and drive instead – or even to book a taxi – rather than take advantage of Ruddington’s once excellent public transport links.
NCC has previously said that large scale scrapping of its scheduled services in favour of DRT follows a major post-pandemic review of its bus network. Nevertheless, the authority has promised £5million will still be invested to support, improve and deliver bus services across Nottinghamshire with “a clear focus on reconnecting communities and protecting services to boost access to education, health, employment, shopping, and leisure activities”. Whilst there are likely to be significantly fewer buses running in the future, none of them should be running ’empty’.
Longer term Ruddington residents may recall that the now doomed NottsBus 863 replaced the much more frequent number 63 bus operated by Paul S Winson (pictured below) – which also provided the only direct link to the QMC from (Keyworth via) Ruddington – but was axed to save money in August 2014.
