Better Transport

Stephen Law ran a successful campaign to get a rural bus service in Warwickshire reinstated. Here he shares his story and his top campaigning tips.

In September 2007, the local bus company in Warwickshire announced its intention to remove the number 25 bus, which served two large villages, Wilmcote and Aston Cantlow. Only the number 26, which travelled along the main trunk road rather than through the villages, would stay. At the same time, Warwickshire County Council announced that it would stop providing the evening service for the area, the number 29.

Local resident Stephen Law wrote to his parish council, Warwickshire County Council, the bus company and local MP John Maple. He asked for a diversion of the 26 service to go through the two villages every two hours, and he asked for an evening service. He suggested that the bus company should be paid to provide these extra services.

"Keep at it until you get what you want!"

Stephen sent a lot of letters and spent time on the phone with the relevant council officer at Warwickshire County Council. At first he was discouraged: "We were told by the parish council and Warwickshire county councillors that we didn't have a chance of getting any changes after the October cuts." But he bounced back and determinedly kept asking for the improvements he knew local people needed.

Eventually Stephen's efforts paid off, after discussion between the council and the bus company about the cost of replacing services. The withdrawn services were reinstated, paid for by Warwickshire County Council.

"If anything, the service is slightly better than before," says Stephen.

Since then, Stephen has formed an action group to promote the service and increase bus use. The group distributes timetables and provides information to people about the bus service through the parish magazine. Stephen thinks imaginatively about where new bus users could come from, for instance he gave information about the bus services to a local caravan site.
 
The villages are quite big, and they are in the heart of Shakespeare country, so Stephen thinks there is a lot of potential for more people to use the bus. He has won the support of people in the villages, many of whom have pledged to use the bus more to ensure it stays.

Stephen's top campaigning tips

• Be prepared to write lots of letters
• Involve as many people as possible – local people, local councils, the bus company, everyone
• Involve your MP and ask him or her to write to the council. Stephen's MP took his side from the start and supported him and his group throughout
• Use the arguments available, such as the fact that public transport is good for the environment, and be sincere
• Be sensible in your requests: in Stephen's case asking for an improvement to the existing service meant that there wasn't duplication of services
• Monitor your bus service, check it is meeting people's needs, and tell the council if it isn't. Stephen monitored the new service to make sure buses were stopping where they should and then reported back to Warwickshire County Council
• You need a couple of people who are very committed to the cause
• Keep at it until you get what you want!

Find out more about Stephen's group