Bus services under threat

From the last week in November, the Number 8 service could be stopped by Stagecoach bus company, but the county council is hoping to keep the service running.

Andrew Dyer, managing director of Stagecoach Coastline, said: "At this stage the future of the route is not certain. The section of the number 8, which runs through south Ferring, unfortunately no longer carries enough passengers to make it financially viable as a commercial bus. We are in discussions with the county council about the possible alternatives which might be run by us, or might be with another operator."

County council spokesman Nigel Galloway said: "We have been notified of Stagecoach's decision and talks are currently taking place to see if the council can step in and continue some services under contract.

"Meetings are due to take place next week, when we will be in a better position to let people know what might be possible."

The bus runs between South Drive in south Ferring, through Goring, along Marine Parade, Worthing, up to Worthing Hospital and along into north Lancing.

Trevor Hill, chairman of the Ferring Parish Highways Group, said: "We did not hear about this until Saturday, when some of our residents were talking about it after they had been told by a bus driver.

"If the service was withdrawn, we would have no bus service to main areas of the village. The 700 service runs along the seafront but does not come through the village.

"Our concern as a parish is that, as a percentage, we have the highest population of elderly folk in Europe, something which was discovered at the last census, and we are concerned about how these residents are going to get around.

"I am still hopeful that there will be a solution."

Ferring Parish Council has applied to the county council for a grant to improve bus shelters in the village, but the county council says no decision has yet been made about the application.

ANOTHER bus service, which runs passengers from Broadwater into Worthing town centre and Lyons Farm, is also under threat.

Stagecoach is currently deciding whether to keep the number 16 running, due to the low number of passengers using the route.

Mr Dyer said: "There are a very, very small number of passengers which use this route. It's likely there will be changes from the end of November."

County Hall is currently looking at whether the route can be contracted out.

Mr Dyer added: "We should find out very shortly from the county council what they are planning to do. We are still a month away from anything happening on the streets and we will make sure we keep everybody well informed."

Last week, the Herald reported that Stagecoach was having problems with broken-down buses, which was affecting the number 16 service.