Petition to Save Hopper presented to WC
Wiltshire Independent Councillors Terry Chivers, and Jeff and Helen Osborn launched an online petition that was presented to Wiltshire Council on May 12th, to try to save cuts to the RUH Hopper bus service.
Terry said, "It's clear that this is just one cut too many, the residents of Wiltshire have clearly said hands off the vital bus service, that links parts of Wiltshire to the Bath RUH. I have lost count of the number of people that have complained to me about this cut. It's all very well Cabinet member Horace Prickett saying that no final decision has been made, but they have already voted to axe £130,000 from its funding."
Jeff said," Only this week, I used this service for an appointment at the RUH. There were 5 other passengers on the bus, none knew that I was a Wiltshire Councillor but they all were very worried about the future of the service. I suggested to one lady that she write to the Leader of Council Jane Scott, and she alleged she had, but never received a reply.
Helen said, "This whole thing has been handled very badly - many people think the service is to axed in a matter of days which isn't the case.
How are people many of whom are in wheel chairs going to get to the RUH? The good thing about this service is it's disabled friendly which is more than can be said about many of our local bus services."
A motion to council to continue discussions with the NHS was submitted by Jeff and Helen Osborn:
"Council remains concerned with the overall manner in which the decision to cease funding the RUH Hopper has been handled. A decision was made without consulting other agencies, such as Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, the RUH and the local Link schemes.
Council notes growing public unease regarding this matter as evidenced by the increasing numbers supporting the relevant petition.
Council urges the Administration to do everything possible to ensure this invaluable service continues and that members and the public are regularly updated on progress towards this objective."
A watered-down version of this, deleting the first paragraph, was accepted by the administration.
The link to the petition is as follows.
http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/campaign-to-save-ruh-hopper-bus