Wednesday 5 September 2012

More about the Station Road bus stop and a comment on the economic impact of the busway for St Ives

Today's Hunts Post ( 5 September) includes three letters about the Station Road bus stop in St Ives, including one from a Fenstanton resident who has been in correspondence with the County Council about the problems. The letter is well worth reading as it reveals quite a bit about the process that resulted in this very  inadequate response to perceived overcrowding in St Ives Bus Station. This is on page 6.

Pressure on St Ives Bus Station is evidently reducing, as instanced by an article elsewhere in the paper (page 11). This covers withdrawal of an early morning bus  (service 21) that was used by young people from Needingworth travelling to St Ivo School. Stagecoach lost the school transport contract for Pidley, Somersham, Colne, Bluntisham and Earith to Whippet and Dew's, which has rendered that particular journey uneconomic. Needingworth pupils live less than 3 miles from the Ivo and are therefore not entitled to free travel to school. Whippet and Dew's buses currently have only 13 places available, at a cost of £150 per term, for pupils from Needingworth to use.

On page 7 are two letters grouped together under the heading of  'The sorry tale of two market towns' i.e. Huntingdon and St Ives. There is clearly a perception that St Ives has better shopping facilities than Huntingdon, but  the owners of an independent St Ives shop refer to their declining  trade. Although it has  been suggested that the busway has brought trade into St Ives, these shop owners would dispute that.

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