Rugby Against the Cuts expressed outrage today at the cuts to local bus services which come into effect on Sunday (June 19th). “These cuts being made by Stagecoach are as a direct result of the withdrawal of funding by Warwickshire County Council for socially desirable but not always economical evening bus services,” Rugby against the Cuts spokesperson Pete McLaren claimed. “They are a direct result of Tory cuts. Public transport is a service like other public services, and should not be run to make profits. Some routes and times are bound to be used more than others, but that does not mean any of them should be scrapped. A large number of people depend on public transport, including those without cars, the elderly, the poor and those with disabilities - in particular people who live in rural areas and have no other means of transport.”
“These cuts to our bus services are yet another example of how public spending cuts disproportionately hit those with low incomes. They are less likely to be able to afford to run a car, especially with petrol so expensive at present. Only last month, the Sunday Times ‘Rich List 2011’ showed that the top 1,000 multimillionaires are £60 billion better off than they were 12 months ago. They now have wealth totaling £395,765 billion – they will not need public transport! Just like when a library, youth club or care home closes, it is the poor that suffer the most.”
WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GOING GREEN?
Rugby Against the Cuts member Liz Peck is a regular user of public transport. “The cuts to these evening services will make it very difficult and much more expensive for me to get around, “ she explained. “I do not have a car, and I use the No 4 and No 86 buses in particular to visit family and friends and for social reasons. People travel to and from work by bus. We are supposed to be encouraging greater use of public transport to help combat climate change, and these cuts will make that even less likely. The real effect of public sector cuts are only just beginning to be felt, and I dread to think what the next 12 months will bring.”
“We do not think ordinary working people should be made to pay for a crisis they did not cause,” Pete McLaren continued. “There is plenty of money floating around as the Rich List shows, more than enough to overturn our economic deficit and then maintain and develop our public services, including public transport. It is all about political decisions, and the three main Parties have all decided to make the poor pay for the crisis. So much for Government leaders suggesting ‘We are all in it together,’ he concluded.
