Ipswich: Commuters fear they will be stranded by bus cuts
RAVENSWOOD: Workers say they will be left stranded by a decision to axe evening and Sunday bus services to and from Ravenswood.
Suffolk County Council has withdrawn funding to a number of bus services in Ipswich as part of sweeping cut backs.
Among the services to go are the evening and Sunday number one, number three and number six buses, which are contracted out to Ipswich buses.
The services, which connect the Ravenswood area, Ransomes Europark and Ipswich Hospital to the town centre, will be altered from Sunday with buses no longer running after 7.30pm on weekdays and not at all on Sundays.
Lynsey Morrow, 31, who works at Dreams furniture store at the Europark, said: “When I saw the new bus time table I panicked.
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“I work a couple of late shifts each week and rely on the buses to get home after 8pm. I live in Chantry and a taxi home will be �10 which soon mounts up.
“I would consider walking in the summer but in the winter it will be dark and cold plus you don’t want to walk home alone at night.
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“It also means that anyone who lives in Ravenswood will have to drive, get a taxi or walk if they want to go to town for a meal or night out.
“The council urge people to get work but on the other hand make it hard for them once they’ve got jobs.”
Mel Thomas, who is disabled and works at B and Q at Ransomes Europark, added: “The cut that’s going to make the biggest difference is the Sunday service.
“As a retail worker you have to work on Sundays and the lack of any service is going to be a problem. It’s not practical for me to walk.”
Rachel Alexander, of Martinet Green, added: “People are going to be left stranded in the evenings.
“It’s OK for council staff with their funded bus service to work – Joe Public who need to get from A to B are the ones who suffer.”
A Suffolk County Council spokesperson said: “The county council is having to save �4million in bus subsidies over the next year.
“To do this, we’ve looked at all of the bus services we support across the county.
“Evening services are less well used than daytime services – so we’re having to focus our resources accordingly. We regret to say that the evening service in Ravenswood is one of the services affected.”
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