Guy McGregor - ITWA (It's that weasel again...)

Yes, he's back again, and this time it's our local bus services that are under threat.

As Suffolk County Council continue their hapless mission to cut spending without any thought for the consequences, the latest news is that they want to cut £2.3 million from the public transport budget for next year. That would be out of a budget of £4.2 million, i.e. a 55% cut.

Apparently, young Mr McGregor is negotiating with officers and cabinet colleagues to save some of the routes potentially under threat, but he'll probably struggle. And, ironically, one of the places most at risk is Eye, in his own division, which may lose all of its bus services.

Now I will admit that some of the county's bus services are a massive drain on the public purse. Ros, a former county councillor and Lib Dem group leader, notes that some of the subsidies were as much as £12 per passenger, a level of subsidy which would be hard to justify in good times, let alone the hard ones we're currently experiencing.

So, for example, route 453, which links the Creetings to Stowmarket on Thursdays (one journey in each direction), could probably go, given the introduction of Suffolk Links Gipping North, a demand-responsive bus service not bound by a timetable. Originally intended to be a market day bus, it links our village to a market that now barely exists. And frankly, I'd rather travel at a time better suited to my needs than at a fixed time and day.

On the other hand, core routes, such as the 87/88 route from Ipswich to Stowupland via Needham Market and Stowmarket, or the 384 which links Stowmarket and Bury St Edmunds need to be protected, so make sure that they survive.

And, just in case Guy has forgotten, there is a cross-subsidy between school services and the rest of the public transport system. Axing those services that use vehicles that would otherwise only be used twice a day would increase the costs of home to school services - we're a rural county, remember? - and likely have an impact on the education budget.

But returning to Eye for a moment, their plucky representative on the county council has suggested that the county might need to talk to parishes to see if they want to support community transport. Well, we might, but we're all agreeing precepts this month for 2011/12, and without proper data, no sane Parish Council would risk taking on a potentially huge (in relative terms) commitment.

To give you an idea, if Creeting St Peter had to find £1,000 to subsidise a bus service, that would be the equivalent of adding 26% to our precept. And, under the new Localism Bill, local residents will have the power to veto excessive council tax increases. You did talk to your friends about this, didn't you Guy?

Sometimes, the sheer inadequacy of our county council leadership is enough to drive one to despair. Oh, and yes, I'm still waiting for your wretched consultation document. Or did you decide that giving us the information required to represent our electors was too expensive?...