Protests set in Chesterfield, Matlock and Bakewell in a bid to improve bus services across Derbyshire

Starting in Chesterfield at 10am on October 14, campaigners will board buses arriving at Matlock (11am) and Bakewell (12.30pm) and stage protests at each place. The action is part of a national Campaign for Better Buses supported by the National Pensioners Convention, trade unions and climate groups.

Local campaigners in Derbyshire are calling for guaranteed, adequate funding to improve public transport – with a regular, reliable, affordable, zero-emission bus network in every village and town in Derbyshire. They also would like to see up-to-date public transport information including travel maps at bus stops.

The campaigners are calling for bus franchising made easier, following in the footsteps of Greater Manchester – and a full public ownership of bus services in the future.

Adrian Rimington from the Chesterfield branch of the National Pensioners Convention said: “Our buses are in crisis, services have been slashed and buses are often cancelled or late. Recent cuts in government funding, which pays for socially necessary services, will make the crisis even worse. As part of the levelling up agenda Government has committed to deliver by 2030 local public transport connectivity across the country that is significantly closer to the standards of London. They need to deliver this.”

James Eaden, President of Chesterfield and District Trades Union Council, said: “Coordination of local buses in Derbyshire is impossible as individual bus operators decide their own routes, timetables, tickets and standards, based primarily on profitability. We need major changes to the way our public transport system is governed, moving from the current privatised, deregulated system to a full integrated, regulated system in public ownership which provides a comprehensive service for customers and good, well paid and sustainable jobs for transport workers."

Marianne Quick, Project Lead at Hope Valley Climate Action's Travelling Light project, said: “Rural communities in Derbyshire know well the impacts of underfunding on our bus services. Those who don't have access to a car are left with no practical way to get to work, school or healthcare. Public transport for rural communities has been inadequate for too long. We need a better bus service, with more frequent and reliable services based on what communities really need.”

Brian Lever from Derbyshire Climate Coalition added: “Transport is the single biggest contributor to the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. If we all took the bus instead of the car just twice a month, by 2050 this would create a reduction of 15.8 million tons of CO2 – the same as the total emissions of the North East in 2019. Serious investment and supportive policies are needed now to get more people travelling by public transport.”

Research by Campaign for Better Transport found that 27 % of bus services in England have been lost since 2012, with bus journeys per head in Derbyshire more than halved between 2009/10 and 2021/22.

Derbyshire County Council have applied for £105 million from the Government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan fund – but received £47 million, which is less than half of the sum needed to improve public transport across the county.