Marooned, as vital postbus axed

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Marooned, as vital postbus axed
By BRIAN TILLEY

Last updated 13:16, Thursday, 22 January 2009

A LIFELINE from England’s most remote village to the outside world has been severed.

The Kielder Postbus has reached the end of the road, after Northumberland County Council withdrew the subsidy that kept the service viable.

But the Royal Mail is being seen as the real villain of the piece, after it altered the times the service operated.

That meant that users of the bus had less than an hour to spend in Hexham before having to leave for the North Tyne again.

And on occasion it was even less than that, with the number of deliveries on the way up the North Tyne meaning it was late into the village, giving even less time at Hexham or Bellingham.

The number of users nose-dived to an average of only two per day, making the loss of the service inevitable.

However, one regular user of the bus is so upset by its loss she is considering putting her house on the market, and leaving the village for good.

The women, who asked not to be named, said: “This is a personal tragedy for me, because the postbus was the only way I could get down to Bellingham, or on to Hexham.

“The drivers were always great, and provided a wonderful service.

“If they knew people were going to the doctors, or had missed the school bus, they would wait for them.

“You can travel on the school bus, but that only runs in term time, and the loss of the service is a real body blow.

“I am now actively considering selling up and moving out of the village.”

The postbus was introduced some 20 years ago, when the Royal Mail first decided to let the general public take advantage of the fact post vans were travelling to remote rural locations on a regular basis, with spare capacity.

A minibus was introduced instead of the usual post van, and it was well used at first.

However, alterations in the timing of the service made it less popular.

A Northumberland County Council spokesman this week pointed out that, on average, the Kielder Postbus only attracted 615 passengers in 12 months, which equated to just two passengers per day.

The spokesman said: “This meant that the cost to the council amounted to £11.87 per passenger, per trip, which was not cost effective.

“The timetable had been amended over the years to better meet Royal Mail’s requirements for the post, but this left it less attractive to passengers, with only one hour to shop, etc, in Hexham.

“As a consequence Northumberland County Council felt the subsidy was no longer giving value for money.”

The service ceased on January 3, with notices being placed on the bus in early December advising passengers of the withdrawal.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “In partnership with county councils, the Royal Mail provides a number of postbus services in remote rural areas and makes every effort to sustain these services, with appropriate council subsidy.

“However, Royal Mail is first and foremost a postal operator, not a transport company, and our top priority is the collection and delivery of mail.

“We are facing ever-increasing pressure in a competitive market and, in this context, it is more important than ever that Royal Mail focuses on its core business.”

The chairman of Kielder Parish Council, Coun. Tom Grimwood, said the loss of the service would be discussed at the next meeting of Kielder Parish Council on February 2.