Passengers urged to sign up for bus fight

17 Feb 2020 09:48
Published by: Daniel Almond

PASSENGERS and residents are being urged to sign a petition to try and save a threatened bus service.

Operator Diamond announced it was terminating its 715 weekday service from Bolton to Wigan at Westhoughton.

This means passengers in Fourgates, Wingates and Aspull will lose their frequent direct service to both towns except on evenings and weekends when the full route will still run.

Now Bolton West Conservative MP Chris Green has vowed to reverse the change and set up a petition for angry users to sign.

Local councillors have already condemned the move, which the company has blamed on traffic congestion affecting punctuality and revenue, as ‘morally wrong’.

Bolton Council’s transport boss Cllr Stuart Haslam, has called an urgent meeting with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).

Mr Green said: “I launched the fight against Diamond Bus’s plans to reduce the 715 service. It offers a regular and frequent service to my constituents on both weekdays and weekends. It is disappointing that Diamond are going ahead with the reduction of the 715 bus service and it’s even more concerning to hear about the little notice given to the service’s regular users. This is why I have launched this petition to save the 715 service, to fight these changes and ensure that my constituents are not left without their regular bus service.

“To sign my petition you can visit my website or pop into my constituency office.”

A Diamond spokesman said: “Unfortunately, in recent years it has become increasingly difficult to operate this service due to general congestion over the route. TfGM and the local authorities were informed of this decision in November.

“While we are unable to commit to reinstating the service on a commercial basis, we are happy to discuss the service with Chris Green MP, and other local parties, to identify ways in which it could continue in a sustainable way.”

 

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