Thorney Parish Councillor angry at ‘absolutely devastating’ local bus service axe

A Thorney Parish Councillor has expressed anguish over a bus operator’s decision to scrap a service that links the village to nearby towns and Peterborough city centre.

Councillor Katie Howard called the decision by Stagecoach East to cease operating the 36 bus service between March and Peterborough “absolutely devastating.”

“The bus service is a lifeline, especially for our vulnerable and elderly residents,” she told the Peterborough Telegraph. “It’s absolutely devastating for the people of Thorney.”

Stagecoach East said the 36 bus – which is the only public transport service connecting Thorney to the nearby town of Eye – will be taken out of service on July 30.

The operator stated that while this “was not an easy decision to make” the company had no other option as the route is “not sustainable”.

Councillor Howard was quick to counter that argument:

“There’s a bigger picture [to consider] than just saying ‘this isn’t a commercially viable route’.”

The councillor was keen to highlight the fact that many Thorney residents use the 36 bus to access medical care in Eye.

“The medical service in Thorney is in crisis, so the majority of patients are sent to surgeries in Eye or Whittlesey,” she said.

“For some people, the 36 bus is their route to medical care because we cannot get appointments at our doctors.

“People rely on the 36 bus service,” she added, “it’s not just a bus route.”

Removing the service, she said, had the potential to be “life-threatening,” claiming “the 36 bus service is a lifeline, especially for our vulnerable and elderly residents.”

This view is shared by fellow Thorney parish councillor John Shearman, who has been spear-heading a campaign to get the decision reversed. He said withdrawing the 36 bus service will have a “devastating effect on the village”

Councillor Howard acknowledges that Thorney is not the only village to suffer in this way.

“Thorney is not alone in its plight being cut off rurally,” she said, adding: “It strikes me that, once again, rural communities are being denied the basic right to access vital services.”