Save the 88a & 88c orbit bus in Preston.

The Issue

Preston Bus have made the decision to withdraw the 88 A/C Orbit service in the next few weeks, this is purely a commercial decision by Preston Bus (a private company) and is nothing to do with funding by Lancashire County Council or Preston City Council . This service is a vital link for the residents of Preston especially with its route to Royal Preston Hospital( we urge Preston Bus to rethink this decision and retain this well used service. The parent company of Preston Bus Limited is Rotala Plc. Rotala Plc is an AIM listed company, operating commercial and subsidised bus routes.
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Emma CaffreyPetition Starter
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This petition had 2,068 supporters

The Issue

Preston Bus have made the decision to withdraw the 88 A/C Orbit service in the next few weeks, this is purely a commercial decision by Preston Bus (a private company) and is nothing to do with funding by Lancashire County Council or Preston City Council . This service is a vital link for the residents of Preston especially with its route to Royal Preston Hospital( we urge Preston Bus to rethink this decision and retain this well used service. The parent company of Preston Bus Limited is Rotala Plc. Rotala Plc is an AIM listed company, operating commercial and subsidised bus routes.
avatar of the starter
Emma CaffreyPetition Starter
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The Decision Makers

Rotala plc
Rotala plc
Responded
“Dear Petitioners, We are grateful that you have all taken the trouble to communicate your views in support of this petition. We are always keen to hear what our customers have to say and to respond to those concerns whenever we can. In our response we would like to clarify two aspects of the decision we have made to re-configure the 88A/C route: 1. The question of subsidy: the 88A/C service for many years benefited from a considerable subsidy first from Lancashire County Council and subsequently from Preston City Council. The subsidy was provided to enable Preston Bus to run a bus service along those parts of the 88A/C route which would otherwise not have justified a commercial bus service. The subsidy from Preston City Council has now ended. The ending of the subsidy has forced Preston Bus to re-evaluate the 88A/C route. The 88A/C route must now run on a fully commercial basis and be sustainable on that basis in the long term. 2. Reconfiguring the 88A/C service: the decision we have taken is to withdraw that part of the service which runs along Lea Road (where there is little residential housing and consequently low demand for a bus service, and two bridges which restrict the type of vehicle we can use) and another part which runs along Bluebell Way (where demand is also limited and there is often serious congestion). All the other parts of the former 88A/C route (approximately 80% of it) will be covered by other Preston Bus services which have been reconfigured in order to achieve this service coverage. The new service layout should also be more reliable as it avoids the “hotspots” which currently cause delays. In many cases the services will be more frequent than before. We recognise how vital the bus service provided by the 88A/C is to the residents of Preston. We have ensured in our reconfigured services that as much of the former 88 A/C route as possible retains a frequent bus service. Thank you Preston Bus Management. ”
Preston Bus Limited.
Preston Bus Limited.
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Petition created on 12 February 2016