High Wycombe MP has called for 'reliable buses' in the town after meeting with the managing director of Carousel Buses.
This comes as parents expressed outrage after a bus service between Downley and William Ramsay School was axed this year.
On September 6, Emma Reynolds MP visited Carousel Buses to press for action on concerns residents raised in her recent bus survey.
READ MORE: Carousel Buses scrap Service 5 for 2025/26 school year | Bucks Free Press
Emma Reynolds said: “It was good to meet with Carousel Buses and speak up for Wycombe residents.
"Although people report improvements since Carousel took over services, there are still issues with inadequate information about delays, buses stopping too early in the evening and connections with train services.
"I also raised concerns about the cancellation of Route 5 between Downley and William Ramsay School.
"I’m glad to hear Carousel are taking steps to support pupils travelling to school and are working with Councillor Hazel Arthur-Hewitt on how they might reinstate the service in the next academic year. "
This year, after the Number 5 bus was cancelled, pupils have been recommended to take the Service 30 bus between Downley and High Wycombe, or Service 31, which runs between High Wycombe and the stops near the school.
The cancellation came two months after it was revealed Carousel suggested that there could be a 48 per cent increase in their annual ticket prices.
Parents had called the move a safeguarding issue and raised concerns about the cost of buses.
One parent told the Free Press: “I feel Carousel see children and parents, their payees, as cash cows."
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On the cost of buses, Emma Reynolds MP said: "I am pleased to see the government’s £3 fare cap is helping people save, especially on routes like Carousel’s flightline 102 service to Heathrow. "
She added: "I’ll keep pushing for better, more reliable buses across Wycombe."
The MP added that if constituents want to reach out about their views on bus services, they can contact her by email.
Luke Marion, Managing Director of Carousel Buses said: "We place great value on listening to local stakeholders, so it was great to be able to meet with Emma to discuss the themes emerging from her recent residents' survey on buses.
"We also valued the opportunity to bring Emma up to speed on everything we've been doing to stabilise the bus network in Wycombe - following the closure of Arriva's operations in the town last year - and to talk about some of the challenges we are facing in our mission to deliver better bus services for Wycombe and South Bucks. "
On the cancellation of the number 5 service, Carousel previously stated: "We have faced challenges with managing capacity, with heavy loadings at the start of the year soon requiring an additional duplicate vehicle to be operated in both the morning and afternoon in order to convey all intending scholars.
"By selling a controlled number of passes for services 630 and 633, we will have much greater visibility on expected demand for the services.
"The cost of operation of service 5 far exceeds any revenue currently taken, and we need to rebase this to ensure that we achieve greater sustainability for this school bus service, in order that it has a greater chance of succeeding in the medium term.
"Although we are looking to increase the cost of passes for travel for replacement services 630 and 633, these are buses that are only held in the fleet due to the need to undertake these school flow movements, and when compared against other similar services provided by other operators, the pass prices for services 630 and 630 are significantly cheaper.
"I note the comments made around changes to alternatives since Arriva exited their operations in the town; however, in practice, this does have an impact on scholars for SWR."
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