A 108-year-old bus line connecting Bromsgrove and Birmingham will be shut down because so many people are now working from home, a transport chief said.
Line 144, running between Worcester, Bromsgrove and Birmingham since 1914, was shortened in late April. The service will now run right between Worcester and Bromsgrove, 13 miles outside of Birmingham.
Nigel Eagleton, managing director of First Worcester, which runs the service, said that “for more than 12 months we have been transporting very few people” along the route, “which means we have to make this difficult decision to disconnect Birmingham.”
He attributed the decline in the number of passengers to the Covid pandemic, saying factors such as “people working from home, flexible work models, confidence in public places and the use of other means of travel to move around avoiding traffic jams. places ”have had an impact on the use of the service.
He said the move was part of the upcoming changes to “readjust our bus network to how and when people travel during the work week and on weekends”.
Locals responded to the plans, saying many people still rely on the route to travel to the city, and more than 2,000 have signed a petition calling for the service to remain.
“Obviously, it will take some time before people return to their normal jobs instead of at home. But now people are slowly getting back to work and relying on the bus to get there, “said Bromsgrove adviser Peter MacDonald.
“After 100 years, this bus route is winning, it seems quite selfish for them to say that it stops now. This will have a devastating effect on people who rely on the bus to get to work. This is a great concern for the people. “
Earlier this month, a study by the Better Transport Campaign found that more than one in four bus services in England had been disrupted in the last decade, with the pandemic accelerating the decline.
Services fell by 18% during the pandemic, compared to a 10% drop in the years to 2019.
Eagleton said the operator was working closely with the Worcester County Council and Transport for the West Midlands to determine if funding was available “to maintain the service”, adding that “we will all update as these talks progress”.
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