A high-profile campaign by members of Wittering Parish Council and local residents has seen a regular bus service restored linking the village and air base with Peterborough and Stamford. Buses started running again on 3 June, reports Steven Knight.
The route had changed operator several times over the last few decades and Delaine Buses, who took over from Centrebus in October 2018, withdrew completely in December 2019, The replacement of just one return timetabled journey to Peterborough on weekdays was provided by Lincs Connect with, what the campaign group described as a poorly-suited on-demand service at other times.
The pressure group launched its campaign last year with their cause taken up by the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority.
The CPCA Mayor and his deputy were taken on a tour by a bus campaign group to Wittering, Castor, Ailsworth and Wansford in September last year to speak to residents and hear the negative impact of isolation the villagers face. This included a £25 cost of taxis to get to medical appointments.
Following the visit, Mayor Nik Johnson and Cllr Anna Smith worked with Combined Authority Officers to find a way to restore this route, preventing communities along it from becoming isolated. A contract to operate the route, given number 27, which has four return trips a day from Wittering to Peterborough, with three each way continuing from and to Stamford, has been let to Stagecoach East, which is running it from its Peterborough depot.
Speaking to CBW, Chair of Wittering Parish Council John Bradshaw said: “It is exciting for the village with a population of 3,300, to get a regular bus service back after four-and-a-half years. It provides a life-saving link for residents, and we are grateful for Peterborough First (the ruling group on Peterborough Council), the CPCA and Stagecoach for making this happen.
David Boden, Business Development Director at Stagecoach East, praised the campaign group saying: “They are some of the most passionate dedicated and committed campaigners for a bus service that we have ever seen. They are also committed to coming with us on the journey to make the service commercial and sustainable”.
CBW travelled on the 1102 from Peterborough to Stamford, and the 1303 return on the first day and besides the campaigners on board noted that there were 16 other passengers.
