Dorsets Bus network - a change for the better?

Residents are being asked to help shape the future of the public transport network in Dorset.

Dorset County Council is consulting with members of the public to find out what their travel priorities are, which will help important decisions to be made about the future of local bus services.

Although the majority of local bus services in Dorset are operated by bus companies on a commercial basis, the county council subsidises many socially necessary bus services through contracts with bus operators.

At the moment, around 11 million individual journeys each year are made by bus in Dorset with about 25% of these being made on these subsidised services.

Councillor Peter Finney, Cabinet member for highways and transportation, said: "We want as many people as possible to complete our questionnaire about how they use public transport.

"Subsidised bus services cost nearly £3m a year and we want to make sure that this money is being spent supporting as many essential needs as possible, while at the same time providing value for money.

"We are continuing to work with bus operators to encourage them to run as many services as possible without subsidy, where routes are commercially viable."

Questionnaires can be completed online or downloaded from www.dorsetforyou.com/busconsultation, where a list of the subsidised local bus services can also be found.

Photo courtesy of ell browns Flickr phtotstream