Conservative Group Leader, Cllr David Hopkins will be scrutinising the Cabinet Decision, due to be taken by delegated decision today (13 December), to pump more local taxpayers’ money into propping up the city’s MK Connect with an additional £500,000 a year.
Having contracted with private provider ‘Via’, the Progressive Alliance are arguing for additional funding, above and beyond what was originally contracted for, due to inflationary pressures (despite falling fuel prices) which also include contractor wage costs, driver shortages and pandemic impacts!
The administration will be taking this money from so called 106 Planning Gain funds that are designed primarily to support education and health impacts of expansion as well as providing much needed community facilities – decided upon locally with our town, community and parish councils.
Cllr Hopkins (whose Danesborough ward which includes the Parish of Wavendon is the fastest growing part of the fastest growing part of the country) notes that no one at MKCC has asked for his input on these issues. He comments‘In Woburn Sands, Bow Brickhill and Wavendon there is a massive demand for a reliable, timetabled bus service operating at peak times with the DRT operating alongside and complimenting it. People requiring getting to hospital appointments, catch trains etc (who are often the more vulnerable or older members of our community) have learnt not to trust the unreliability and passenger rider discomfort of the DRT, MK Connect services. Whilst they have their place and for some members of the community the DRT does offer some form of service, the solution is a mix of both. It seems the further you live from the centre of MK the more unreliable or non-existent the bus services appear to be’
Cllr Hopkins also notes that the price comparison in the papers accompanying the report to Cabinet compare a full, hourly seven day a week City wide timetabled service with the DRT alternative. What residents are demanding are peak time timetabled service mixed with DRT. There is a third way solution mixing timetabled services with DRT which needs to be considered.
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