Dear Southend on Sea Borough Council,

I hereby submit this Freedom of Information request for the following facts and figures regarding bus and public transport provision in Southend on Sea Borough Council as of 2011.

We are gathering this information as part of the Save Our Buses campaign. We know that the Government has made very deep cuts to local authority budgets and that local authorities have been struggling to keep their bus networks intact while finding savings. What we want to gather is a national picture of bus cuts, so that we can explain to central Government exactly how their decisions are likely to impact the country. Without this big picture the Government is able to dismiss bus cuts as local decisions. We hope to lobby the Government to give greater financial support for the bus network because we understand that the smooth operation of a whole range of national and local government provision and work is dependent on people being able to catch the bus.

We know that some authorities have already made decisions regarding cuts, some are still in the process of making decisions around how many services will lose funding and some have made some cuts and are considering further cuts. We are trying to get a picture of the risk posed to the bus network, so where you have proposals being considered but decisions have not been made finally yet please let us know.

I am aware of the general figures and information currently on your website, but would be grateful for clarification on the following points:

1) The number of bus services which will be subject to a reduction or withdrawal of Council subsidy this financial year, in 2012/13 and in 2013/14.
2) The number of previously subsidised bus services that have already been entirely lost following the withdrawal of subsidy. If you have withdrawn subsidy and are waiting to find out how the bus operator is going to react please also let us know about these buses.
3) The number of previously subsidised bus services that have not been totally lost, but that have been reduced in terms of route or frequency following the withdrawal of subsidy. If you have withdrawn subsidy and are waiting to find out how the bus operator is going to react please also let us know about these buses.
4) If you can provide a list of the services in question and how they have been or will be affected please let us know.
5) Have you calculated the number of bus passenger journeys the changes in subsidy could impact once your cuts have been fully implemented? If yes please state the number. I would like to know how many are at risk even if there is a chance that the operator will in fact run the service commercially going forward.
6) Have you calculated the number of bus miles the changes in subsidy could impact once your cuts have been fully implemented? If yes please state the number. I would like to know how many are at risk even if there is a chance that the operator will in fact run the service commercially.
7) If you are still going through a process of consideration or consultation and have not yet made a decision on your budget for bus subsidies please let us know how many bus services, how many passengers and how many journey miles could be at risk in each proposal you are considering.

This information above may include, but not be limited to:

Minutes of Council budget-setting meetings and meetings with operators.
E-Mail conversations, specifically relating to the requested subject.
Route timings, and drafts of these timings.
Reasons for change and withdrawal of services, where this may occur.

Please let me know upon acknowledgement, if there are any queries relating to this request.

Yours faithfully,

Jasmine Chahal
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Save Our Buses Campaign
Campaign for Better Transport
www.bettertransport.org.uk
020 7566 6489