Coventry Telegraph
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/news-opinion/red-button-coventrys-electric-dreams-6935649
A switch of bus operator means goodbye to £800,000 worth of battery-powered vehicles
The plug is being pulled on one of Coventry’s claims to be an “electric city” with the loss of a park and ride service.
A switch of bus operator means goodbye to £800,000 worth of battery-powered vehicles that currently run from the Memorial Park to the city centre.
Two years ago the buses were launched with a fanfare by the transport minister, giving a much-needed boost to the council’s go-ahead image of itself.
Now the subsidy from Centro and the city council has been dropped and operator Travel De Courcey has decided the route is no longer viable.
The city–based firm is re-routing its three electric buses – probably to Leicester, where things are buzzing, especially for fans of the Foxes and Tigers needing public transport.
And that would be just rubbing salt in the wound, for a Red Button insider says behind the loss of the Coventry subsidy is a huge drop in demand for people wanting to go into the city centre.
He said: “Coventry wants to brand itself an electric city and it is the 11th largest by population but no-one seems to want to go into the centre.
“The council is not just out of step in promoting itself, it is 10 paces behind other Midland cities like Leicester and Birmingham.”
It’s understood that De Courcey is going with a heavy heart, although it will continue to operate other services in Coventry.
But the chipping away of its home market is a factor in the firm, whose HQ is in Rowley Road, eyeing up a new base in Brum. Needless to say, Centro is putting a postive spin on the change of operators.
From April 27 it will effectively be Stagecoach’s X17, a scheduled bus which has run along the Kenilworth Road into Coventry centre for many years and will now call into the Memorial Park en route.
Essentially a bus anyone could have caught before just outside the park.
While there may be extra buses from April 27 and a Sunday service, they will have many stops before getting to the park.
So not a dedicated park and ride service at all.
Move along the bus, please.
