Bus operator to scrap all services in Milton Keynes after accusing council of 'unfair tactics'

Britannia Bus company has accused the council of putting politics before people as far as bus travel is concerned.

“We’ve been put in a position where we can no longer have a working relationship with MK Council because of the way they’ve acted. I am withdrawing all our services from the city," said the company’s managing director Derek Taylor this week.

Britannia has been running buses successfully in Northamptonshire for 16 years and recently introduced three services to serve the people of Milton Keynes.

These were the 440 from the Shenley Wood Retirement Village, Emerson Valley and Furzton to CMK, the 450 from Woburn Sands to MK and the number 89 from South Northants into the city.

All three were funded 100% by Britannia, with no subsidies.

It was a problem with the 440, introduced in March, that has now prompted a flurry of bad feeling between the company and the local authority.

And it’s resulted in the council reporting Britannia to the Traffic Commissioner, an action the company claim is heavy handed and unfair.

The council denied it was unfair, saying it made the report to HELP its case for more support for bus operators.

But because of the action, Britannia has now given notice to cease the 450 and 89 services from November 30.

The council’s complaint came after Britannia withdrew the 440 service because it was underused. It accused Britannia of not fulfilling 100% of its promised services

"We actually planned to revise the route then reinstate it,” said Derek. “The pensioners in the retirement village wanted to go to Westcroft to shop instead of CMK. We got it wrong.

"There was no need for MK Council to take the nuclear option and report us to the highest enforcement officer in the land... We were doing the best we could at a time when all bus operators are struggling.”

Derek claims the council itself is not providing a full service for the city following its decision to scrap many of its subsidised bus routes last year and replace them with the ‘demand responsive’ MK Connect ride-sharing system.

This system has been criticised by people unable to load the app, while others have claimed it is unreliable.

Derek says he has “reservations” about the effectiveness of demand responsive systems. He believes the scrapping of subsidised routes has left a sizeable chunk of MK with no bus service at all.

He said: "Our services were needed in MK. The 450 was particularly popular. But the goodwill with MK Council has gone and no longer feel able to work with them.”

A council spokesman said: “We’ve been in talks with this provider for some time trying to resolve issues of notification for service changes. If we’re not told about changes and nor are local people, then we’re obliged to inform and pass on customer feedback to the Traffic Commissioner. Doing so is an important step in providing more reliable bus services in MK.

"We hope that by reporting the issues bus companies are currently facing we will be helping to state our case more clearly to the DfT/Sec of State regarding the need for ongoing support for operators.”