BORDON'S vital pilot bus has been given the green light to continue until June, having secured the funding it needed in a meeting on Tuesday. At a north west area community committee meeting councillors unanimously voted to support the pilot 73 bus by granting the necessary £408 needed. Gwil Williams, transport development officer at East Hampshire District Council, said that at last month's Winchester meeting between council officers and local councillors there had been "unanimous" support for the continuation of the "vital" bus service link. Earlier this month, the central area community committee also agreed to support the service with a £408 grant. Mr Williams said one of the reasons they wanted to extend the service was in order to judge the impact on the route of free bus passes for the over-60s. He said by June there should be more information about the need for the service because a working group had been set up to look at problems and possible solutions to transport in the area, and that Hampshire Council Council (HCC) was also reviewing its community transport provision in the East Hampshire area. A report into the usage of the bus showed that surprisingly larger numbers of people are travelling northwards from Liss and Greatham to Bordon to visit Tesco and the Forest Centre than south to Petersfield. Zoya Faddy, member for Whitehill, said: "This is a very valuable service. A lot of people from Liss come to Bordon because of its growing variety of shops." The original 38 bus service ran from Portsmouth to Petersfield passing through Liss, Greatham, Bordon and Whitehill to Farnham and Aldershot. In April 2002, HCC withdrew its subsidy for the route north of Liss Forest. This meant Bordon and Whitehill lost public transport links with the southern villages and towns. The pilot bus service was then launched after residents from Bordon, Whitehill, Liss, Greatham and Blackmoor said they were concerned about a lack of transport. Now every Thursday, the service travels from Liss north through Greatham and Blackmoor to Bordon, giving people access to Tesco and The Forest Centre at Bordon and to shopping, health and leisure facilities in Petersfield. The cost of running the bus is £120 a day and that money has been paid by HHC, EHDC, and various parish councils. HCC made a request to EHDC that it contribute 40 per cent of the total cost for the service. This amounts to £816. The central area community committee agreed to pay half that sum at a meeting earlier this month. The bus looks set to continue running now until June, having secured the cash from the north east area committee on Tuesday. l See page 8 for The Herald reporter's test ride on the 73.
