I spent this morning and lunchtime on the Little Red Bus with Brian, a warm, wonderful and helpful driver!  Little Red Bus is a not-for-profit, independent, voluntary organisation tackling isolation faced by people living in rural—and urban—areas.  It is a vital link in the provision of community transport throughout the Skipton & Ripon constituency.

The crisis regarding the lack of adequate public transport in rural areas is well known, and I won’t bang the drum about its importance here.  Suffice to say that it has to be central to any local council’s integrated transport planning, as it provides a lifeline to a huge cross-section of the whole community who are transport-less.

Take today.  Brian started the day on the Pateley Bridge minibus picking children up from Darley to drop them off at school at Pateley Bridge.  The he immediately picked up Ron from Pateley to take him to the British Legion Lister House care home for the day in Ripon.  En route, he picked up a lady at Shaw Mills to drop her off at Morrisons in Ripon for her weekly shopping. 

After dropping off his two Ripon customers, it was back up the dale to Bewerley to pick up a lady who was meeting friends at Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate.  We then stopped off in Harrogate, where there was some time to rest, before his next appointment to take a lady from Harrogate Post Office to Pateley.  This lady had cancelled, so on his way back to Pateley for his next pick up he dropped me back home.  And he still had more pick-ups to do before finally collecting the children from Upper Nidderdale School and bringing them back to Darley!

Most of Brian’s daytime passengers are elderly people (who can travel on the bus on a concessionary fare) travelling to hospital and doctor appointments, to supermarkets, to weekly markets, or to visit friends and relatives.  What today brought home to me more than anything else’s is how vital this service is in really enriching elderly people’s lives. 

I am convinced that this kind of service has to continue to be on the council priority list, regardless of any talk of possible future cuts.  There is nothing like experiencing the provision first hand, to really see what is involved, and I really enjoyed the time I spent on the bus, chatting with Brian and his passengers!

It makes the Liberal Democrats’ focus on localism seem all the more relevant.  It is only in local areas that such brilliant local solutions can be designed and delivered so effectively - and be accountable to and delivered in consultation with residents.