Shuttle bus faces the chop unless passenger numbers increase

SHUTTLE bus services between an industrial estate and Royston town centre could be axed because they are being used by less than 25 people a day.

Since October, buses have been running from the Orchard Road industrial estate into Royston for a two-hour period each lunch time on weekdays.

The service was set up on a trial basis by Royston First, the town's Business Improvement District company, but with passenger numbers currently varying between 10 - 25 a day, it will not continue into the new year unless business picks up.

Speaking on behalf of Royston First, town centre manager Geraint Burnell said: "The decision to potentially cut the shuttle bus is a difficult one.

"On the one hand we have a commitment to the business community to provide this service, but on the other hand we have to make the best use of available funds.

"We feel that three months should count as an adequate indicator. If we don't achieve a good volume of usage over the Christmas period then the likelihood is we never will."

"The idea of this bus route is to make it easy - and free - for workers on the industrial estate to nip into Royston during their lunch hours, providing a new service to those working on the industrial estate, while at the same time creating a new source of customers for the town centre," he said.

Mr Burnell said that Royston First will continue to monitor patterns of usage, and come to a final decision on the future of the bus when the trial period finishes at the end of December.

Since the trial began in October, the route the bus takes has changed slightly after feedback from users. It now returns via Orchard Road itself, dropping off passengers collected in the town centre.