500 signatures reached
To: David Mellen, Leader of Nottingham City Council
Protect Nottingham’s Linkbus Network
Nottingham City Council is proposing to cut £700,000 from the annual funding for the City’s Linkbus Network which is operated by the bus operator CT4N and serves a number of routes throughout Nottingham. The cuts will mean that a number of vital routes will be withdrawn or altered.
RMT is calling on Nottingham City Council to withdraw the proposed funding cuts and to commit to ensuring that all Linkbus services and jobs are permanently protected.
RMT is also calling on the Government to ensure that its long-awaited National Bus Strategy ensures that all Local Authorities are provided with sufficient ring-fenced national funding to ensure that the UK’s bus network can be protected and expanded.
Why is this important?
The Linkbus network is funded by Nottingham City Council as these services ‘fill in the gaps in the network, running on routes that are not commercially viable, but that provide an essential public or community service’.
Local bus services prevent social isolation, and enable people to connect with jobs, health services, education and their local economy, and RMT believes that these cuts would be detrimental to the local community and hinder the area’s economic recovery from Covid-19.
The Linkbus services are used by a high number of disabled and elderly residents who would be particularly disadvantaged if the services were withdrawn.
The draft budget, which includes the proposed cuts to the Linkbus network is being reviewed by the Council on 8th March 2021.
A consultation on the proposed Linkbus cuts is open until 21st February and responses can be submitted here - https://www.transportnottingham.com/consultations/changes-to-linkbus-services/
Please sign this petition to protect these vital bus services.