Labour campaigners push for restoration of Kew bus service.

Labour campaigners push for restoration of Kew bus service

Labour campaigners pressing for a bus route to be reinstated on the Kew Estate have persuaded the Chair of Merseytravel to look into the case.

The estate lost its previous service around four years ago as bus company Arriva rerouted it along Town Lane. This by-passed the large housing development entirely and left many residents facing a walk of 400 metres or so to reach the closest bus stop.

After hearing just how dissatisfied they were and the difficulties it had caused, Labour’s Kew candidate Janis Blackburne contacted Merseytravel Chair, Liam Robinson, to invite him to the estate to see the problem for himself.

Janis Blackburne explained she’d picked up on the issue while canvassing for the local elections and decided to take action:

“This has caused real hardship for some local residents. Four hundred metres might not sound much but if you are elderly or say a mum with kids and are bringing home the shopping, it can be.”

“This problem kept cropping up in my discussions with people on the estate who said their current Lib-Dem ward councillors had failed to get anything done about it. Some residents had apparently even been told that it was down to buses not being able to turn on Ovington Drive, which seemed bizarre and more like an excuse for inaction.”

“Sure enough, when I looked into this it instead appeared to be based upon a rule that as the estate was within 400 metres of the bus stops on Town Lane it meant the service could be scrapped. Since that ruling though, a whole new part of the estate has been constructed beyond the 400-metre zone which I believe nullifies the basis for the decision and should mean the reinstatement of the service.”

“I asked Liam Robinson to come up and then drove him around the estate to see for himself, I’m delighted to say he agrees and we will now be contacting Arriva to lobby to have the service reinstated.”

Merseytravel Chair Liam Robinson says that she presented a strong case:

“It quickly became apparent that Janis firmly believes that the service restored and I think she is correct in her opinion as due to the expansion of the development there’s a strong case to reinstate the service. She’s proved a very capable advocate for Kew residents on the estate.”

The Labour candidate for the ward says she’s delighted to have the Merseytravel Chair’s support:

“It’s a major step forward for residents and hopefully Arriva will now listen to the case we have to make and the backing we have and Kew estate residents will get their route back.”