New bus-iness could serve the county

A new members only bus service is being proposed for the county - to help keep people connected in the face of cuts to services.
Ashley Philips who is looking to set up his own private bus company in Skegness.Ashley Philips who is looking to set up his own private bus company in Skegness.
Ashley Philips who is looking to set up his own private bus company in Skegness.

Ashley Phillips is looking to launch Lincolnshire Community Transport, a service which could connect residents across the county.

The members-only service would see those wanting to use the service pay a £42-45 monthly subscription.

Mr Phillips said: “It started out as one idea developing into another. I was reading a while ago about how buses were being cut back by millions of pounds and a lot of people were really upset.

“I started thinking, how could I get around that, what could I do to fix it?

“I also started to think about hospitals and what the plan was for patients.

“I remember chatting to a lady once who had cancer and public transport was so shocking she had to take a taxi from Skegness to Grimsby - that’s a £40 there and back trip that she had to do regularly and was such a waste of money.”

Mr Phillips is looking to use low-floored minibuses which are flexible enough to carry wheelchairs.

These buses are also small enough to go down rural roads meaning Mr Phillips hopes to cover some of the back routes.

He has started with the idea of having 16 routes across the East Coast and Lincolnshire but is looking for feed back from potential members.

Those who join the scheme will be given a membership card which they can flash when boarding the bus. However, with memberships taken by direct debit the customers details will also be kept on a system in case a member loses their card.

All profits made from subscription will be fed back into the business, which Mr Phillips says will enable him to maintain and provide a better service over time.

With the scheme not reliant on government funding, he hopes this will mean no cutbacks.

To find out more, or make a comment on the new service call 0800 689 0451, email [email protected] or visit www.lctonline.co.uk