“lack of support for the service from local businesses”
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The Hopper Bus has now been going for some years – and has sparked some wider issues:
Futures Forum: Hopper Bus: and green tourism
Futures Fourm: How to sustain and improve rural transport
Futures Forum: Is it ‘Park & Change’ or ‘Park & Ride’?
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It’s back again – and with further issues, as reported in the Herald:
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Sidmouth Hopper bus returns, but new ideas are needed to secure its future
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Sidmouth … free bus service HATCH GREEN COACHES YJ59 GEK… | Flickr
The popular service running between Peak Hill, the Triangle, the caravan sites and The Donkey Sanctuary will start on Saturday, May 23 and finish on Sunday, September 6.
But the town council said there had been a lack of support for the service from local businesses, and it will be looking at other ways to secure its future.
Councillor Kelvin Dent, the member with special responsibility for the Hopper bus, said: “I am really pleased that the Council has been able to put in place support for a Hopper Bus for 2020. This type of service is unique to Sidmouth, and takes much organisation and above all funding. We continue to look at ways of securing the service.”
This year’s Hopper bus will revert to its original route and will not run to Kings Garden Centre, as it did last year. The council said Richard King from the garden centre had supported the service, but the extra cost of petrol had outweighed the income from passengers travelling to the centre.
Sidmouth Hopper bus returns, but new ideas are needed to secure its future | sidmouthherald.co.uk