900 STRONG PETITION PRESENTED TO COUNCIL (Kirklees Liberal Democrats)

Kirklees Liberal Democrats <info@kirkleeslibdems.org.uk>

900 STRONG PETITION PRESENTED TO COUNCIL

December 4, 2006 5:26 PM

900 local residents calling for Kirklees wide support in safeguarding bus services in the Spen Valley

At the meeting of Kirklees Council on 29.11.06 Cllr Andrew Pinnock (Lib Dem, Cleckheaton Ward) presented a petition signed by 900 local residents calling for Kirklees wide support in safeguarding bus services in the Spen Valley.

The petition was launched by Cllr Andrew Pinnock with the support of local bus users after plans to slash several bus routes were announced by Arriva.

"The number of people who have signed the petition demonstrates the strength of opposition to the planned changes" says Cllr Pinnock.

"Commuters, older and younger people, those who reply on public transport the most, will be hit the hardest. I feel this is very unfair as bus users already put up with a great deal, including unreliable services, an ageing fleet of vehicles, jams by heavy traffic, not to mention the wind and the rain".

"As a local community, as a region and as a country as a whole, we need to be encouraging more and more people to leave the car at home and opt to take the bus or the train. This would help ease congestion on the roads and reduce the amount of CO2 that is released into the atmosphere which causes climate change. However, without better, more frequent and more reliable public transport services, this is unlikely to happen anytime soon."

Following the campaign by local people and Cllr Andrew Pinnock, Arriva were persuaded to reinstate the Cleckheaton to Leeds service via Moorend and Hunsworth. But they were not persuaded to reinstate any of the other alterations, and, from the end of January, this will mean other existing users are going to be inconvenienced.

"I hope that this petition will persuade our elected representatives on Metro to push for more assistance to ensure that we have bus services that meet the needs of local people," said Cllr Pinnock.