Better Buses East Midlands coalition held a protest outside the Mayor’s office at Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre at Saltergate in Chesterfield on Saturday, February 1, calling for her support to bring the buses under public ownership.
Protesters held up letters spelling out ‘Regulate for reliability’ and colourful banners demanding updated timetables at the bus stops, hourly services in all villages across East Midlands and more reliable bus services.
Lisa Hopkinson, the protest organiser, said: “We are here today to launch the petition to the Mayor Claire Ward to bring the buses in the East Midlands under the public control as they’ve done in Greater Manchester, as they’ve had in London for years.
"We want better buses in the East Midlands, we want them regulated properly. We want one network, one timetable, one ticket – so people who use buses in Derbyshire have a much better services.”
The group, part of a wider East Midlands Combined Authority (EMCA) coalition, have launched an online petition as a part of their protest, which has received over 150 signatures in just a few days.
This comes after the group presented the Mayor with evidence that bus services across the East Midlands, including in Derbyshire, are ‘in crisis’.
Better buses campaigners complained about a ‘vicious circle of decline’ which they believe has continued ever since ‘buses were deregulated in 1986, with cuts to vital services’.
They said this has left many people across the region ‘locked out of jobs and opportunities, unable to visit friends or family, or forced to buy cars’.
1. Bus protest in Chesterfield
Better Buses East Midlands coalition held a protest outside the Mayor’s office at Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre at Saltergate in Chesterfield on Saturday, February 1, calling for her support to bring the buses under public ownership. Photo: Brian Eyre
2. Bus protest in Chesterfield
The group, part of a wider East Midlands Combined Authority (EMCA) coalition, have launched an online petition as a part of their protest, which has received over 150 signatures in just a few days. Photo: Brian Eyre
3. Bus protest in Chesterfield
Lisa Hopkinson, the protest organiser, said that if the buses were brought back into the public ownership, people who use buses in Derbyshire would have much better services. Photo: Brian Eyre
4. Bus protest in Chesterfield
Better buses campaigners complained about a ‘vicious circle of decline’ which they believe has continued ever since ‘buses were deregulated in 1986, with cuts to vital services’. Photo: Brian Eyre