Parents in Great Barton, near Bury St Edmunds, fear A143 bus stop plan puts ‘children’s lives in danger’

Angry mothers say their children’s lives are being put at risk after a number of school bus stops were axed.

The mums, who live in Great Barton, near Bury St Edmunds, say they were horrified when buses stopped calling at several locations in the north of the village, without warning.

They say this means groups of children now have to walk along the main A143 road to the bus stop opposite the Post Office, which puts them in danger.

Clair McKay, whose 14-year-old daughter, travels to Thurston Community College by bus, said: “This means that over 20 school children will have to congregate on the busy A143 every morning and also get off there, on their return.

“The paths are narrow with overgrown vegetation, the volume of traffic is huge, the nights are drawing in and it is incredibly dangerous.

“Not only this, but they have taken away the 10 trip bus tickets meaning that we can now only purchase a single bus trip ticket, increasing the fare to £4 per day return.

“There are no other bus services we can use and so we are forced to put our children in danger and pay extra for this.”

The main routes causing concern are the former 304 and 338, which have now become the 70 and 70A.

It follows the takeover of Diss-based Simonds Coach and Travel service by the Transport Made Simple Group (TMS), in May.

Melanie Funge, whose 15-year-old daughter travels to St Benedict’s Catholic School, in Bury, said: “My daughter now has to walk on roads without pavements, some unlit to the main A143 road, to use the new service, which completely misses us on Livermere Road, Conyers Green and Hall Park.

“The A143 is a very busy road and having 20-plus children stood at the bus stop, with some having to cross the road, is just asking for trouble.

“It would only take one child to slip off the unkempt pavements, which doesn’t bear thinking about. We are all so angry about this.”

Suffolk county councillor Beccy Hopfensperger has launched a petition calling for the company to review the former 304 and 338 route – and is calling for a public meeting.

Thurston Community College, meanwhile, has raised concerns with the Suffolk schools' transport team and requested that it review the route decisions.

Great Barton Parish Council called the situation ‘totally unacceptable’ and stressed the route was also used by elderly people.

Similar concerns have been raised by residents on the former 337 route, now the 73, which includes Walsham-le-Willows, Badwell Ash and Pakenham.

Peter Nathanail, TMS managing director, said: “We have had to make changes to routes 304, 337 and 338 because these routes were not carrying enough passengers to cover their costs.

“We receive no financial support for buses on the Diss to Bury corridor, so must ensure that the routes we operate generate enough revenue to be sustainable.

“We reduced the number of buses from five to two, offering a simplified and enhanced service with hourly buses six days a week through Stanton, Ixworth and Great Barton.

“Unfortunately, this has led to smaller settlements, including some parts of Great Barton, no longer having a bus service passing through them directly.

“We had to plan a route that could be achieved within an hour, to run hourly frequency in each direction.

“While we acknowledge parental safety concerns, the bus stops we are using are official public bus stops which have been in use for many years and do not pose any specific risk to passengers.

“Unfortunately, irrespective of any petition or other feedback method taken, we are unable to reinstate the old route through Great Barton as it would not be financially viable.

“We would encourage as many people as possible to use the new routes 70 and 70A, at their enhanced frequency, to keep those services sustainable and prevent a further reduction in services.”

He added that different pricing options were available and that any fare changes were ‘necessary to keep the service sustainable in the long term’.