Milton Keynes Disabled fighting PlusBus for our rights, latest news

Tuesday 12th September, some of PlusBus' disgruntled customers attended a meeting of Milton Keynes Council where they were able to speak and make their views known. The Council voted unanimously for an urgent review of the service. Here is how it was reported by our local paper, The Milton Keynes Citizen:-

Problem service to be overhauled

BUS services for the elderly and disabled are to be
urgently overhauled following a storm of protest by those who rely on them.

Passengers have complained of buses running up to an hour late, too little time to shop before return journeys, inconvenient pick-up points, vehicles going too fast and people being left stranded.

New operators were recently brought in to shake up the community transport service, but opposition Labour councillors said Milton Keynes Council did not pump in enough money and was now presiding over a "fiasco."

They called initially for an independent inquiry, but accepted ruling Liberal Democrats' promise of a prompt and thorough review by a council committee.

Cabinet member for social care Cllr Irene Henderson said: "We see no purpose in spending taxpayers' money in setting up an independent inquiry to look at services when we have already acknowledged there is a problem and are making improvements."

She said the successful London-based company running the buses had been hired after a transport consultant had worked with users on a replacement system.

Some 800 travellers then joined the revamped service, compared to 150 using its forerunner.

"There were far more people than anyone had expected and far more journeys than anyone expected. "There have been – and still are – problems."

She said the failure of the service had been "deeply embarrassing and deeply disappointing. We were devastated by the flood of complaints that came in."

But she told the Citizen improvements were already under way, with the council looking to buy an extra bus and advertising for additional drivers.

Cabinet lead for transport Cllr Chris Williams promised a personal reply to complaints raised by disabled people at a council meeting.
doug.smith@mkcitizen.co.uk

14 September 2006


News Our experiences with PlusBus Get involved - useful links and how to contact us Home	Tuesday 12th September, some of PlusBus' disgruntled customers attended a meeting of Milton Keynes Council where they were able to speak and make their views known. The Council voted unanimously for an urgent review of the service. Here is how it was reported by our local paper, The Milton Keynes Citizen:- Problem service to be overhauled BUS services for the elderly and disabled are to be urgently overhauled following a storm of protest by those who rely on them. Passengers have complained of buses running up to an hour late, too little time to shop before return journeys, inconvenient pick-up points, vehicles going too fast and people being left stranded. New operators were recently brought in to shake up the community transport service, but opposition Labour councillors said Milton Keynes Council did not pump in enough money and was now presiding over a "fiasco." They called initially for an independent inquiry, but accepted ruling Liberal Democrats' promise of a prompt and thorough review by a council committee. Cabinet member for social care Cllr Irene Henderson said: "We see no purpose in spending taxpayers' money in setting up an independent inquiry to look at services when we have already acknowledged there is a problem and are making improvements." She said the successful London-based company running the buses had been hired after a transport consultant had worked with users on a replacement system. Some 800 travellers then joined the revamped service, compared to 150 using its forerunner. "There were far more people than anyone had expected and far more journeys than anyone expected. "There have been – and still are – problems." She said the failure of the service had been "deeply embarrassing and deeply disappointing. We were devastated by the flood of complaints that came in." But she told the Citizen improvements were already under way, with the council looking to buy an extra bus and advertising for additional drivers. Cabinet lead for transport Cllr Chris Williams promised a personal reply to complaints raised by disabled people at a council meeting. doug.smith@mkcitizen.co.uk 14 September 2006

	Thursday 7th September, Milton Keynes councillor Mick Legg meets some of the disgruntled PlusBus customers.

	Wednesday 6th September, a PlusBus broke down and a customer who suffers from MS was left to make his own way home from the City Centre, along the Redways, in his electric wheelchair!

	Tuesday 29th August, PlusBus customer Marie visits Milton Keynes Council offices to lodge her complaint. The council offices have been beautifully refurbished with adequate wheelchair friendly access points. Unfortunately on the day that Marie went the wheelchair access points were not in use and so Marie had to contend with this very high and difficult to use counter.
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