Fair Fares – Protecting our buses
I am calling for the people of Great Yarmouth to show how much they value their bus services; by signing the Fair Fares petition, arranged by Norfolk County Council.
As a passionate supporter of our bus services, I arranged for a debate to be held in Parliament in to highlight the problems county councils and bus operators’ face when trying to maintain rural bus services. Norfolk County Council faces a funding shortfall of millions of pounds to pay for concessionary bus passes, which is placing the entire network under strain.
It is vital that the petition demonstrates the strong level of support for our vital bus services, so that my campaigning case in Parliament is strengthened. The current way the concessionary bus pass system operates has the potential to undermine fundamentally the finances of the entire rural bus network, it is essential that we take steps to resolve the situation. The system is broken and must be reformed. I hope everyone will join with me in signing this petition.
Sign the Fair Fares petition now.
Campaign Update
11 November 2011
The Great Yarmouth Mercury reports that campaign gains fresh impetus as new figures reveal an even bigger funding shortfall next year.
11 October 2011
My debate in the House of Commons about rural bus services, sees the Transport Minister admit that the funding formaula is an issue in Norfolk. The debate receives widespread support from other MPs across the country.
07 October 2011
The Great Yarmouth Mercury highlight the campaign on the front page of this week’s edition of the newspaper under the headline “Fight to save free bus pass”. I use my monthly column in the Great Yarmouth Mercury to highlight the Fair Fares campaign.
