Group to look at buses hit by cuts

HENLEY Town Council is to form a working group to investigate bus services.

It comes after Oxfordshire County Council approved cuts of £3.7million to its subsidised transport services budget.

This means Thames Travel and Whites Coaches, which run internal services in Henley and buses to Wallingford and Woodcote, will lose their £118,000 council funding.

Speaking at the annual Henley town meeting last week, Donna Crook, from Henley, said the buses were a vital lifeline for the elderly.

She campaigned to prevent the cuts because it would affect her father Peter Roberts, 88, of Truss Corner, who suffers with mild dementia. More than 2,000 people signed her petition.



She said: “Is there anything that can be done to help keep the buses going because they are vital and a lot of elderly people need them?”

Mayor Lorraine Hillier said the town council would form the working group to work with the bus companies.

She added: “We have approached Henley Volunteer Drivers. There is hope we can help with rural routes.”

Dave McEwen, of Henley in Transition, said: “We want to see a case put forward for a good bus service in Henley and by that we mean a 15-minute service around the town with a low energy bus which incorporates a park and ride service.”

Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Hillier said she hoped Ms Crook could be on the working group, adding: “She had some good ideas.”