'Forgotten' estates' called for improvements to bus services in Milton Keynes

For years people on Furzton and Emerson Valley enjoyed a half-hourly bus service into the city centre, Bletchley and Wolverton as well as frequent services into MK hospital and Westcroft shopping centre.

They were the Number 6, Number 28 and Number 22/35 buses.

But all of them were scrapped last year by MK Council, along with many other subsidised routes in the city, to be replaced with the demand-responsive MK Connect minibuses.

"In theory MK Connect is a good in service but in practice is totally inadequate,” said one resident.

"We sometimes have to wait up to 15 or 20 minutes for a connection and then another 20 to 45 minutes for a bus. Sometimes there are no buses available and we are told to try again in five to 10 minutes, only to start the same process over again,” he said.

“Having made the journey, there is then the problem of getting back - when the whole process has to be repeated.”

MK Connect has generally had a mixed reception in MK, with some people describing it as the perfect eco-friendly ride-sharing system but others slamming it as simply grim.

Many bus users were cheered when a private company, Britannia, launched a new 440 service, taking people from Furzton and Shenley Wood Retirement Village to the Central Milton Keynes.

But sadly the service had to be withdrawn due to lack of users – sparking a row between Britannia and the council.

Residents say few people used it because the city centre is too costly for the weekly shop.

“What is needed is a service from Bletchley to Westcroft, via Furzton and Emerson Valley. Perhaps two buses in the morning and two in the afternoon would be sufficient,” said one resident.

In February this year, MK Council announced one scrapped bus service would be restored in part of MK – and they ploughed £50,000 into the company that would run it.

The new service serves Coffee Hall, connecting residents with other parts of the city. But it does not help those living on Furzton or Emerson Valley.

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