'Low demand' bus route dropped after three months
An "isolated" community is to lose its first bus to a nearby town in a decade after only three months of operation.
The number 68 from Port Clarence to Billingham and the University Hospital of North Tees was introduced on a trial basis in February.
However operator Stagecoach announced the service will end after next week's half-term holiday because of low demand. It said it brought in just £12.58 a day and four people per trip, while running costs were in excess of £80 a day.
Councillor Katie Weston, Labour member for Billingham South, said she did not blame the company but called for changes to help remote communities access public transport.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "There's a lot of kids who aren't doing anything after school because they literally can't get back, they rely on the school bus.
"And people doing their shopping, going to the doctors, because Billingham is their town centre."
After meetings with Stagecoach the service, which had not run for a decade, was brought back on a trial basis.
"We thought we'd try and get enough people to use it, then we might be able to build on it and they might be able to put more times in place", Weston said.
"The passenger numbers aren't high enough for Stagecoach to be financially viable.
"It's a private company that at the very least needs to break even to run that service.
"Less than half of the population of Port Clarence has access to a car, so it does leave them very isolated, socially and economically.
"What they need is an actual proper regular bus service and, given the current system that we have, it's just not going to happen.
A Stagecoach spokesperson said: "This trial was undertaken in good faith and at Stagecoach's commercial risk.
"Unfortunately, across the first six weeks of operation, service 68 has carried an average of four people per trip, with a total revenue of £12.58 each day.
"Labour costs alone for operating these trips has been around £80 per day - this is before fuel and vehicle costs are factored.
"With such low demand, it was determined the trial could not be extended."
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