Why is the route being cut?

Torbay Council has announced the complete withdrawal of funding for subsidised bus services in Torbay. One of these routes is the 18 between Brixham and Kingswear.

This route is so important. It isn't just another rural bus that links villages. It plays a serious role in the transport of people between two substantial towns.

This route provides important connections for work and social events, as it links with the ferries to Dartmouth in Kingswear and buses across the whole of Torbay from Brixham. Evening shift workers use the ferry from Dartmouth to Kingswear, then the 18 into Brixham.

But now people will be without transport to get home from work or socialising.

What has Stagecoach decided to do?

Right before what promises to be a busy summer season, from 30th March, 2015, Stagecoach South West has made the decision to withdrawn all the evening trips on route 18. So that means the last bus from Brixham will be at 19:35, and the last one back from Kingswear will be 20:00. Currently, the last bus from Brixham and Kingswear is 23:00 and 23:20 respectively. In the morning, the 07:15 from Brixham and the 07:33 from Kingswear will also not run.

This decision will have detrimental effect on people's social inclusion and job opportunities, as well as upon the interconnected local economies of Brixham, Kingswear, and Dartmouth. It will contribute to the further demise of the area.  

What could Stagecoach have done instead?

Firstly, we believe it is shortsighted to pull a popular evening service right before the start of the summer season, when it is well used by residents and tourists alike.

Stagecoach South West is within its rights to run a commercial evening service. We are petitioning Stagecoach to reinstate either all or some of the journeys in the evening.

It is clear to us that the partial or total withdrawal of route 120 (Paignton to Kingswear) would have had less of an impact. Passengers would have to travel into Brixham and catch a number 12 bus for Churston or Paignton. 

We demand transparency from Torbay Council

In Torbay Council's 2015/16 budget, the money saved by cutting all bus subsidies stands at £42,650. But: £38,350 was saved by the "removal of unallocated bus subsidy fund." We want to know why this money was "unallocated" and why it has been removed. 

Lastly, we ask for an official and public apology from Stagecoach

As of 12th March, 2015, no information has been released in any official statement from Stagecoach about this decision. There was also no consultation period by Stagecoach. This information has only been collected through directly contacting Stagecoach on the back of hearsay. At the very least, we demand an official, public apology to all users of this route, who have not been given enough time to react to the changes.

Please let Stagecoach and Torbay Council know WHY these changes will affect you. 

Please pass the petition on and spread the word. We CAN make a difference.