I thought that 394 users and followers of this thread might be interested in my message to High Peak Buses via the "Contact Us" section of their website, and in their reply, e-mailed to me this morning. I notice that they make no comment at all on my attempt at a helpful suggestion as to possible alternatives if there's no public money forthcoming to restore the subsidy on the Monday > Friday service!
MY MESSAGE TO THEM:
I was dismayed to learn this week from one of your excellent drivers that HighPeak/Centrebus proposes to withdraw the Monday>Friday (untendered) 394 bus service at the end of March, as I use the service several times a week and sometimes more than once a day; I live close to the 199 and 394 bus routes on the outskirts of Hazel Grove, use a Marple bank which has no branch closer to my home, and regularly visit an elderly house-bound friend on the borders of Hawk Green. There is no straightforward public transport alternative to the 394 for accessing Marple from my area.
I appreciate that, since taking over this service at very short notice after the demise of "Speedwell", the company has been proactive in making efforts to encourage more patronage of the 394 service, notably by experimenting with the - presumably ultimately loss-making - extension from Stepping Hill into Stockport, that when costs are routinely greater than revenues commercial bus services can't be maintained indefinitely, and that in the current public expenditure climate local authorities are increasingly unable to maintain the existing networks of subsidized bus services. On the other hand, I'm also aware that back in 2012 TfGM and Derbyshire County Council were at that time prepared to continue the subsidy, and that High Peak offered to try to run the service on a commercial basis rather than surrender the route to Smith's of Marple!
However, we are where we are. I've signed a couple of petitions to local councillors which, if well supported by 394 users, will hopefully have some influence in encouraging TfGM and DCC to give favourable consideration to reinstating at least some degree of subsidy to enable the retention of the 394, even with a more limited frequency. But in present circumstances there is of course no way of knowing whether that will happen, which leaves me wondering whether there might be other more financially viable ways of retrieving at least something of the present 394 service.
For instance, might it be possible to consider extending the 62 Hayfield - New Mills - Marple service to Stepping Hill via the 394 routes, especially since Stepping Hill is the main local hospital for New Mills residents, whereas it isn't, on the whole, for folk who live in and around Glossop? And with that section of the 394 route thus served by an extended 62, I wonder if a Glossop - Stockport service which didn't have the long and time-consuming diversion via High Lane and Hazel Grove, and was, perhaps, "express" or "limited stop" between Marple and Stockport, might turn out more attractive to through passengers than the extended 394 proved to be - especially if DCC could be persuaded to put a little money into it for the benefit of residents in Charlesworth and Chisworth? I've no particular expertise in public transport economics, but I was a teenager in south Manchester when Dr Beeching slashed the railway network and, while it was quite reasonable to cut existing rail services which were little used, it surprised me back then that no real "lateral thinking" seemed to be given to utilizing existing track and stations to provide services into central Manchester which was where, back then, a very large number of people did want to go each day. Just a thought!
THEIR REPLY TO ME:
Dear Mr Ellis,
Thank you for your email and sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the planned withdrawal of the 394. I can confirm that from the 27th March this service will no longer operate Monday to Friday. The weekday service on the 394 is operated on an entirely commercial basis by High Peak Buses and over the past few years we have worked hard to try and build the route up in order maintain commerciality.
The timetable has been reviewed a number of times to try and improve passenger usage and in April 2015 we extended the service to Stockport Bus Station, by adding extra resources into the service in a bid to try and increase passenger numbers on the service. This change was promoted through a special 394 leaflet that was designed and produced for the service. However unfortunately, despite the extra resource we put into the service, passenger numbers continued to be low and the extension was withdrawn towards the end of October 2015. In addition to this a review of specific journeys on the route identified some poorly used journeys which were costing us an extra bus and therefore some early morning journeys on the service were also cancelled.
We have continued to monitor the service and unfortunately despite our best efforts to keep the service running, we have now reached a point where the operating costs of running the service are no longer being met and as a result we have had to withdraw the service. I understand that this decision may cause some inconvenience to some passengers, however at the same time I would like to assure you that this is not a decision that has been made lightly.
Unfortunately with the reducing government funding it is difficult for bus operators to maintain commerciality on services, however we will continue to work in partnership with the council to try and ensure that key bus links are maintained where possible.
I am aware that Derbyshire County Council have now issued a tender for the Monday to Friday 394 service to continue with funding support provided by them. At this point, the best advice I can give you is to contact the council for more information regarding this.
Once again thank you for taking the time to get in touch and sorry for any inconvenience caused as a result of the changes to the 394 service.
Kind Regards,
Bijel Mistry
Commercial Manager
CENTREBUS LTD your local bus service provider
PLANNING, DEVELOPMENT AND REVENUE
102 Cannock Street, Leicester, LE4 9HR
