With local bus services a top priority for Rachel, she recently chaired the first cross-party Redditch Bus Travel Task Force meeting.
Held at the Ecumenical Centre last Friday (September 2nd), the Task Force brought together representatives from Worcestershire County Council, Diamond Bus and Age UK, as well as Borough and County Councillors from all political parties.
As the local MP Rachel chaired the meeting – the first Bus Travel Task Force meeting to be held by the County Council as it travels around Worcestershire.
At the meeting, the agreement between the County Council and bus operators to save all bus routes in Redditch was discussed. The Task Force also talked about what can be done to increase passenger numbers in order to put bus services on a more secure footing.
Rachel said: “Bus services are vital for many of my constituents, which is why I was pleased to chair the first Redditch Bus Travel Task Force.
“At the meeting we all agreed we need to keep working together to ensure we keep bus services running. Bus numbers are still down after the pandemic and have not yet recovered, so it remains a challenging time for bus operators.
“There is a lot of funding in place from County Council and Department for Transport. The Government has supported bus services to the tune of billions during the pandemic and continues to do so with more funding announced just recently. We need to work on demand, reliability of services, and encouraging people to use the buses.”
