Could the handy CallConnect dial-a-bus service be expanded to operate in the Brigg area on Sundays and later in the evening on other days of the week?
Currently, it operates Monday-Friday 7am to 7pm, and from 7.30am to 6.30pm on Saturdays.
But how about a switch to 7am to 9pm, seven days a week?
The fares are reasonable and the service is, as it says, flexible.
But many people would appreciate additional operating hours, particularly on Sundays when a rather sparse service is provided by Stagecoach between Brigg and Scunthorpe.
Currently, hiring a taxi is the only option to get back to Brigg on a Sunday evening for those who don't have a car available.
CallConnect was expanded into our area a few years ago to allow people to get from A to B when timetabled transport is unavailable.
We've found it particularly useful to visit Elsham Golf Club for Saturday functions, and to come back to town from Barnetby railway station after the timetabled Hornsby service had finished for the day.
Find out more about CallConnect in Lincolnshire here...
We thought about this after a supporter of local public transpot sent us a link to a new report suggesting rural transport in the UK is in a "state of crisis, with bus cuts and shrinking transport networks leaving communities cut off, unable to access jobs and services, and creating increasingly congested roads."
The Campaign For Better Transport suggests: “Things need to change. The Government must realise the importance of rural transport and do more to help communities and local authorities provide a public transport network that supports rural economies and improves the health and wellbeing of the people who live there.” Read the full report here...
The Brigg Line passenger provision - just six trains on Saturdays, three in each direction - definitely needs improving; many local people want to see a meaningful service throughout the week so they can get to Sheffield, Grimsby and Cleethorpes or to Barnetby for connections elsewhere.
However, Monday to Saturday, Brigg currently has its best bus service for many years following the addition of the Hornsby X4 expesses to and from Scunthorpe.
Coupled with the long-established No 4 route, this now means that half-hourly buses for lengthy periods of the day link our market town and the steel town.
So we wouldn't say Brigg is facing a public transport crisis, despite trains being few and far between, as they have been for several decades.
But there's always room for improvement, and CallConnect might be the way to achieve this.
If you haven't already done so, register to use CallConnect buses using this link...
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| A CallConnect bus waiting to pick up passengers bound for Brigg from Barnetby railway station |
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