Bus services were one of the main items at the Skircoat ward forum on 30 March, in particular the withdrawal of the 36 bus service.  An officer from Metro, Neil Holt, said that the current bus network was the best they can offer in Calderdale. He claimed that the new service is adequate for the people catching it.

There were a lot of angry comments from members of the public

Pauline Nash

Pauline Nash, candidate for Skircoat ward, referred to the survey undertaken by the Liberal Democrat team. She said that It was quite obvious that there was a roomful of people saying the buses were not adequate. Some people were having to leave for work an hour earlier. There were two main issues with the service now being offered.  First not frequent enough, and second does not start soon enough and ends too soon.

Conclusions of the bus survey (download full report below)

Hardship is being caused to older and less able people who do not drive, as well as school and university students.  Many people who replied to the survey pointed out they are using their car more, which is environmentally harmful.

The main issues raised are that :-

• People would use the bus service more if more frequent services were available
• That 20% of those surveyed always considered the buses to run late, with 62% saying that buses ran mostly on time
• The overwhelming view was that deterioration in bus services was unacceptable at a time when trying to reduce a carbon footprint.

People’s thoughts on the new services provided were

• Too infrequent
• Not reliable
• Overcrowded.

This was also borne out of feedback from the residents of Copley Village at a meeting of the Copley Residents Association held on 1^st March 2010.

Recommendations – What needs to be done

Cllr Stephen Gow with the 36 before it stopped

Cllr Stephen Gow, report author, states: From the responses that the Liberal Democrats have received, there is a customer base in the area to re-introduce a more frequent service during peak times to at least half hourly. This could either be done by

• Introducing new services
• Diverting existing services from the main Huddersfield-Halifax route

You can read the full report below:

What next?

Skircoat Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for a better bus service for local residents.

You can download the full report here:

Bus Survey Results

Pauline Nash, Stephen Gow and Elisabeth Wilson at the Godfrey Road busstop.

The Skircoat ward Lib Dem team (Cllr Stephen Gow, Skircoat ward candidate Pauline Nash, and parliamentary candidate Elisabeth Wilson) have been out and about in Skircoat Green with a survey about changes in bus services.

On January the 25^th the number of peak time buses through Skircoat Green reduced from 6 to 1.

• The 531 service now runs hourly
• The 36 became the 31 service and only runs off peak

In order to make representations to Metro to get a better deal for local residents, the Skircoat team have been calling door to door with a survey on bus usage.  So far they have had a very good response and hope to collate replies soon.

If you would like to complete the survey, please download and send as soon as possible to: councillor.sgow@calderdale.gov.uk OR

Pauline Nash, The Old Sheldon Dairy, Heath Road Halifax HX1

There are 4 pages:

Page 1

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Page 4

Many thanks

Pauline Nash has been selected as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the Skircoat Ward by-election to be held on April 2^nd. Mrs Nash hopes to become the second Liberal Democrat Councillor in the ward following Cllr Stephen Gow’s victory in 2007. Pauline stood in Skircoat, her home ward, in May 2008, coming second to Cllr Wainwright.

A former youth and community worker, Pauline, of Heath Road, Halifax, has been a magistrate since 1981 and has served as a member of the Board of the Halifax Opportunities trust.

Pauline says, ‘This by-election has come about in unfortunate circumstances but I look forward to fighting the seat again. On the doorstep last year people were concerned that their voice was not heard in the right places in the Town Hall and that important decisions, such as the new waste contract and the introduction of wheelie bins, are being made without consultation. That is why I support the Liberal Democrat plans for a more open council that consults local people properly on the matters that affect them the most.’

Cllr Stephen Gow says. ‘Pauline is known by many people throughout the ward and will make an excellent local ward Councillor. She is a no nonsense character who will work hard for Skircoat ward.’