X4 bus service serving Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes to be axed
The Arriva X4 bus route serving Heath & Reach, Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes will be axed from the end of August.
The announcement has been described as a ‘dramatic change’ to local bus services leaving many residents in Heath & Reach without a public transport service to Leighton Buzzard.
It will also impact residents and college students who rely on the service to visit Milton Keynes.
Trevor Harris, who lives in Heath & Reach, said: "No more buses from Leighton Buzzard to Milton Keynes after the end of this month. I'm presuming that will potentially affect hundreds of people who use that route regularly.
"Obviously this will have a huge affect on local residents and will make life particularly difficult for older people who don't drive… many of whom obviously don't use the internet so can't take advantage of home delivery for shopping and similar.
Central Beds Council has said it is now working with other bus service providers to see if other routes already in place can be extended to bridge the gaps from the end of August.
One woman posted on Heath & Reach village Facebook page: “I have heard about this other service, but still doesn't help college students so my son will have to get to the train station and catch the train. My daughter lives in MK in a supported living house due to mental health issues and she comes to me for weekends and catches the X4 from MK, so she will now have to get taxis. This is wrong.”
Another added: “What about students who attend MK College?”
A reply she received from Arriva, stated: “Unfortunately, the X4 service will now only operate between Aylesbury, Kingsbrook, Wing, Sandhills, and Leighton Buzzard. We understand this change may cause inconvenience, particularly for those travelling to Heath & Reach or students attending MK College.
“For travel to Heath and Reach outside of the protected school journeys, we recommend contacting Central Bedfordshire Council for advice on alternative local transport options.
“We’re truly sorry for the disruption this may cause. As mentioned previously, we’ve done everything we can to keep the route running, but sadly, we’re no longer able to sustain this loss-making service beyond 31 August.”
Cllr Mark Versallion, said: “The ongoing viability of X4 is something that has been discussed by Arriva and CBC as well as MK Council and Bucks County Council for some time but unfortunately these talks have not resulted in the service being able to reach a financially sustainable solution.
“However, CBC is working with Red Rose Travel to extend their existing 150 Aylesbury to LB service to and from Heath & Reach to ensure the continuation of a bus service for the village off peak on weekdays, Saturdays and non-schooldays.”
“This enhancement to the 150 service will be funded by the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding allocation CBC has received from the Department for Transport (DfT).
“CBC is finalising the details of the enhanced 150 service with Bucks County Council and the Traffic Commissioner and full details will be released as soon as possible.
“An enhanced 150 will make up for only some of the loss of the X4 so I am asking for more detail.”
A spokesperson for Central Bedfordshire Council, added: “We know how important local transport is across Central Bedfordshire – but unfortunately, after several meetings with Arriva, which included multiple neighbouring councils, our discussions did not result in the service X4 being a viable route for Arriva going forward.
“We are now working with other bus service providers to see if we can extend other routes that are already in place locally to bridge the gaps as much as possible from the end of August. We will keep you updated on how we are progressing with these discussions over the coming weeks.”