Increase Frequency of Bus Services to Rural Areas

Residents of Wards 3, 4, and 5 face a level of transport isolation that is simply incompatible with full participation in community and economic life. Bus services on routes 14, 19, and 22 — the only public transport options for most rural ward residents — run at a frequency that makes reliable daily travel impossible. Many residents face waits of over 90 minutes between services, with no evening or Sunday provision at all.

This is not a minor inconvenience. It is a structural inequality that limits access to employment, healthcare, education, and social connection for thousands of residents who cannot drive or cannot afford to. The rural wards are not a marginal concern — they are a significant part of the district and their residents deserve the same level of connectivity as those in central areas.

We call on the Transport Policy Unit to take urgent steps to improve bus service frequency across the rural wards.

Routes 14, 19, and 22 currently operate on a frequency of between one and two services per hour during weekday daytime periods only, with no provision after 18:30 or on Sundays. A transport needs survey conducted by the Ward 3-5 Residents' Alliance in 2025 found that 67% of respondents without private vehicles had been unable to attend a medical appointment, job interview, or education course in the past year due to inadequate bus provision. The council's Transport Policy Unit has previously identified these routes as candidates for frequency enhancement but no funding bid has been submitted.