Mayor still ‘listening’ to Derbyshire villagers’ desperate call for bus service
East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward has stated that she is still ‘listening’ to the residents of a Derbyshire village who feel they have been left ‘isolated’ after a ‘vital’ bus service was scrapped over a year ago.
Ms Ward recently met with residents after NE Derbyshire District Cllr Kevin Gillott, who represents Pilsley and Morton, arranged a meeting at Morton Village Hall, to discuss on-going concerns since the commercially-run number 55 bus which used to stop in the village was rerouted.
The East Midlands Combined County Authority is also currently considering the results of a public consultation into transport across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire called The Mayor’s Big Transport Conversation to help shape future changes, improvements and developments.
EMCCA Mayor Ms Ward said: “I made it clear I was coming to the meeting to listen to them since they lost the bus route 55 through the village to understand what their needs are, where they need to go, and what their alternatives might be.
“I was clear we are in the middle of assessing the consultation and I have to make decisions based on the whole region. I cannot do things piecemeal.
“I was never arriving there with a solution or a promise. People welcomed the fact I was coming to listen.”
The commercially-run number 55 bus used to stop in Morton – three miles from Alfreton, in Derbyshire – before it was rerouted after Hulleys of Baslow ceased trading in late March, 2025, and Notts & Derby Buses took over the service soon afterwards and removed the village stop.
Since then campaigners who regard the number 55 bus service as a ‘vital lifeline’ have been appealing for help because they say they feel ‘isolated’ and the only alternative villagers now have is a ‘dial-a-bus’ with bookings on demand which they argue is ‘inadequate’.
But the bus company has argued the 55 service was rerouted away from Morton because only a small number of villagers was using the service despite claims by residents to the contrary and that the bus was a lifeline for everyone including the elderly, work commuters, the disabled and students.
Ms Ward said that she is looking into what the demand is in Morton for a bus service and she has been making enquiries about possible routes and the costs involved, and she is considering why the Derbyshire Regional Transport strategic public transport group runs differently to the Nottinghamshire system.
She added: “I am very clear I am not promising something I am not confident of delivering but at the moment I am in listening mode considering what the factors are.
Ms Ward said: “They are saying they need to have something which allows them to get reliability to town because there are no shops and no direct services in the village and we understand.
“We are looking at all rural aspects across the region and we also know there are places, not just in Derbyshire, but in Nottinghamshire too who have similar challenges and we need to look at what we can do.”
Labour Mayor Ms Ward stressed that the bus route collapsed under the former Conservative Derbyshire County Council administration and neither they or the current Reform UK administration, which maintained responsibility for transport until February, could resolve the problem.
EMCCA is currently considering the results of the public consultation into transport across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to help future transport priorities for the region including improvements and developments after more than 36,500 residents took part in the process.
Ms Ward said top level themes of The Mayor’s Big Transport Conversation consultation are expected to be outlined in the next few weeks and EMCCA is looking to invest in areas where it feels confident changes can be introduced.
Goals include bus improvements, better bus stops, improved user-experiences, better connections between transport and bus organisations and bodies as well supporting active travel like cycling and considering requests for a review of bus routes.
She added: “There is a huge amount of work to do and people should not underestimate, because no where in the country is doing what we are doing – bringing in four transport bodies to create one.”
Public transport responsibilities have moved from Derbyshire, Derby, Nottinghamshire and Nottingham’s councils to EMCCA and the authority became the official regional transport authority for these areas from February and it says it is eager to build news relationships with bus companies.
Since Ms Ward was elected as the first EMCCA Mayor in May, 2024, she has secured £2 billion for transport improvements and has allocated £121 million per year for local highways authorities to repair and maintain roads, including tackling potholes for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
EMCCA also announced in January that passengers across the East Midlands are set to benefit from a £65.5m investment in bus services from Government funding over the next three years as part of a national funding package for local transport authorities.
Ms Ward has previously said that problematic areas where there is not sufficient public transport is the reason why EMCCA needed to secure control and she wants to work with bus companies to identify areas that need additional support and to encourage more people to use buses.
EMCCA has inherited a number of bus schemes and concessionary systems that are different, according to Ms Ward, and it aims to review these to create a more consistent system for the whole region.
Ms Ward said: “We have a massive demand from the public for improved buses, more reliability and more routes and we have to recognise the cost of all these things.”
She added: “People want change as quickly as possible. That is why I am adopting an enhanced partnership to work with bus companies to bring changes and if I do not get the cooperation I need I will move to franchising.”
Should EMCCA move towards a franchised system the authority would have greater control over public transport to decide upon the routes and fares, and private companies and operators would be invited to bid for contracts.
Ms Ward has acknowledged the importance of connectivity for rural areas and Bolsover Labour MP Natalie Fleet and Labour NE Derbyshire District Cllr Kevin Gillott have supported Morton residents’ campaign to get the 55 bus service route reinstated for the village.
NE Derbyshire District Cllr Kevin Gillott was invited to comment on Morton’s ongoing concerns over the absence of the 55 bus service but at the time of publication he had not yet responded.