Council steps in to save Clowne bus route with injection of funding

The 53 bus, which runs between Sheffield, Eckington, Clowne, Bolsover and Mansfield, is run by Stagecoach, with no funding from Derbyshire Council.

The company, however, had planned to scrap the service entirely due to low passenger numbers.

However, the council has now confirmed it will keep the service running – providing the funding to do so from January 2023.

The route will then be re-assessed to see if passenger numbers increase.

Coun Kewal Singh Athwal, council cabinet member for highways assets and transport, said: “This service provide vital transport links for communities in Bolsover and north-east Derbyshire, linking them with Sheffield and Mansfield, and we could not stand by and see them disappear.

“Nationally, bus passenger numbers have not yet returned to pre-Covid levels, so in supporting these services we hope we will encourage more people to use them – and I would urge all residents to start using the buses available on a more regular basis.

“By providing the money to keep these services going we are doing all we can to allow people to get to their place of work, education, to the shops or travel for leisure.”

It is one of six services the council is funding, alongside:

9: East Midlands Airport – Melbourne – Swadlincote - Burton;

401: Burton – Hatton - Foston – Sudbury – Doveridge – Uttoxeter;

237: Glossop – Hadfield - Ashton;

341: Glossop – Gamesley – Hyde;

358: Hayfield – New Mills – Stockport.