It is not just which buses run “where and when” that is important. Anyone who has waited at the bus stops by Rye Station will know they offer little protection from wind and rain. Other stops have no shelter at all. Even if there is a bus, the stop might be not convenient, or the walk there could be wet, muddy and badly lit – Rye’s Old Brickyard is a classic example.
But buses are important to people – and these people may be the partners, the children or the elderly parents – of drivers whose work is distant and timed differently to their needs. And it includes the mothers with babies and pushchairs, the elderly with shopping trolleys and the disabled. And it includes me, as I have two homes – one in Rye, and one in Rye Harbour – and the latter is a caravan in the holiday park and somewhat elderly, like me.
Rye Harbour is one of the places affected by the bus cuts, although there are many others. The current 312 is not that frequent, with few on Saturdays, none on Sunday, and a long, unlit and unsafe walk into town, when there is no bus or it does not arrive, which happens. I have had to do this myself, often with luggage, or sometimes a shopping trolley and frequently in the pitch dark. Where I used to live, the taxis shared one number, and you could usually find one.
When it worked, the 312 bus took me to Tenterden with a choice of two large supermarkets (one posh, one cheaper) and the first bus on Saturday morning was often very busy. Sometimes pushchairs and shopping trolleys collided and competed for the available space, but it got sorted. Summer was harder if there was luggage too, from the caravans, but that seemed more of a problem on the Camber buses out to Pontins.
Shortly, though, there will be no bus to Tenterden and very few to Northiam (the new 313 replacement route). But there will be a lot of hanging around in Rye, getting wet and cold all too often. Waits may be longer too, as the 312 and 344 buses will only be once every two hours during the off-peak daytime in future, though they may be more frequent during the peak hours at the start and end of the day, making the cuts look less. But cuts they are.
Grandchildren and other visitors use my caravan and usually they have cars, but not always. And I could decide to sell the caravan. But what about the people who live in Rye Harbour and depend on that bus link? They had actually been pressing for a Sunday service. Well, Northiam are losing theirs.
I love the Harbour with its huge skies, great flat expanse of space, wheeling flocks of birds and impenetrable, silent darkness at night, because it contrasts so much with the Tillingham valley, the rolling hills on the edge of the Weald, the green fields sprinkled with snowflakes of sheep I see from my house – and a lot more lights. I don’t want to see the Harbour more isolated and possibly even more neglected, but I think these cuts (and others) are a sign of neglect and “not caring”.
Where I actually live now (once my house was completed in Valley Park), bus stops are not close and the walk is muddy and unlit at night, but there are buses – and there will be slightly more 326s on Saturdays. Whether the books can be made to balance, or enough funds can be raised by Rye Community Transport (RCT), is another matter. But Stagecoach’s long 326s often looked too empty and too big for Tilling Green, while RCT’s comfortable vans did not sometimes seem big enough. But, compared to the situation at Rye Harbour, I cannot complain.
For those who depend on buses – and there may be many more than you think – the detail of connections, where buses actually stop and whether they fit in with doctors’ surgeries or hospital hours is vital. Debate about these cuts may last right through this month and beyond.
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