'I cannot get to hospital appointments'

The 64 rolls into Market Drayton bus station – it’s a sunny June mid-morning and there’s already a queue forming.

Market day is here and bargain hunters are out in numbers. Others peruse a bus timetable and wonder how long it will take them to get to their hospital appointment.

The 64 service weaves its way around villages either side of the Shropshire-North Staffordshire border to destinations such as Shrewsbury, Newcastle Under Lyme and Hanley.

But Arriva Midlands has reduced the frequency of the route as “customer levels during the day have struggled to recover to their pre-pandemic levels.”

Tell that to passengers and some responses cannot be published here. "Stressful" seems like a fair summary.

“I’m in constant anxiety”, says Mary Valentine-Williams, a cancer patient who attends Shrewsbury Hospital.

She says she has no alternative but to take the bus to two appointments this week alone.

“You can be waiting hours for the 64 to come, then hours on the other end to come back. It’s very stressful.”

Outside ‘traditional’ commuter times, the bus leaves Market Drayton for Shrewsbury at two hour intervals, but it’s three hours for Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent).

One passenger likened it to a ‘public transport desert’ while others say they’re seriously considering away, such is their feeling of isolation.

Liz Hay moved to Market Drayton 15 months ago.

“I wasn’t expecting a wonderful bus service but I was expecting to be able to get to hospitals fairly easily”, she says.

“I’m seriously thinking of moving away in a few years’ time to ensure I’ll be able to get regular buses and taxis. It frightens me that I cannot get to hospital appointments.”

Janet Smith, another 64 passenger wants Shropshire Council to take control of all bus services.

“Up in Manchester, Andy Burnham achieved a partial change in the law to allow for franchising. As a first step, at least, we need something like that”, she said.

Official figures suggest the number of miles you can travel by bus in Shropshire fell by 63% between 2013 and 2023, the biggest reduction in England. Meanwhile, passenger numbers fell by more than 40%.

So, while commercial operators may have a point about reduced demand, concerns about older people facing increased isolation seem equally valid.

Market Drayton Climate Action, a local campaign group, has carried out an extensive survey of passengers.

They’ve logged complaints about infrequent buses, unreliable taxis, and the fact that there is no rail station in Market Drayton.

Getting to nearby towns like Whitchurch and Nantwich is also problematic for public transport users.

Belinda Sprigg, of MDCA, says car use will only reduce significantly if they get regular bus routes.

“There is also lots of people with poor mobility or no access to a vehicle and they are completely marooned here. Basically we are told ‘there is no money’.

"We thought we’d get some money from the HS2 cancellation – but we haven’t seen evidence of it yet. I just despair really.”

A spokesperson for Arriva Midlands said: “We never take the decision to reduce the frequency of any service lightly.

“Lower customer numbers and higher business costs have meant that operating this service (64) at a higher frequency is unsustainable at the current time.

“Arriva continues to work collaboratively with the Local Transport Authorities to review service levels.”

Shropshire Council worked closely with the providers of bus services to maintain and improve them across the county with Market Drayton and other rural areas a high priority, a spokesperson said.

"Without the council’s support, many of these services would have been stopped by the commercial providers," they added.

This week’s general election has reignited debate over how to protect and indeed fund, effective rural bus services.

"Bus services in North Shropshire are broken”, says Labour’s candidate Natalie Rowley.

“Labour will give our community the power to take back control of our bus services, and…support local leaders to deliver better buses, faster.”

Sam Cladingbowl, an Independent, wants to reopen several former bus routes. “Secondly, I'd ensure proper investment into North Shropshire's infrastructure so that many of our hamlets and villages aren't left isolated, and forced to use our roads which have been equally neglected.”

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat candidate for North Shropshire, said: “Shropshire has lost more bus miles in the last eight years than any other county in England thanks to the Conservatives’ neglect of rural Britain.

“Liberal Democrats would reverse that by giving local authorities more powers to franchise services and simplifying funding so that bus routes can be restored and new routes added.”

Simon Baynes, the Conservative Parliamentary candidate, says £4.7 billion has been pledged for transport priorities in towns and rural areas in the Midlands and the North.

“I strongly support the introduction of free bus services on certain days of the week in North Shropshire including in Market Drayton and Ellesmere…

I also back the innovative plans by Shropshire Council for the Connect on Demand bus service which will allow for more flexible travel options.”

Mark Whittle, of Reform, says “bus services should be integrated and matched with local trains to enable continuity in public transport and small buses…utilised for regular drop of points.”

While Craig Emery, of the Green Party, says if elected, he would “increase subsidies for bus and rail travel, pass control of bus services to local authorities to integrate the network, and offer free bus travel for under 18s.”

So, it seems the election candidates do recognise that what is on offer is not adequate. The regulars on the ‘64’ are queuing up to tell them.

The addition of the commercially-run ‘301’ town service has been welcomed by Market Drayton residents.

But it is charities who are stepping in.

The North Salop Wheelers is a popular ‘doorstep’ bus service run by volunteers, backed with some local authority grant funding.

“If people are elderly and isolated, it’s difficult for them to make short trips and have social lives so we go and pick them up from home”, says Robin Nelson, Secretary of North Salop Wheelers.

“We’re getting busier but we’re also short of volunteers. We want politicians to recognise that in rural communities, there are real transport problems. If you live in London, services go everywhere…but here there really is no transport and I don’t think politicians really grasp that fully.”

Follow BBC Shropshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]