A VILLAGER has spoken out about the ‘frightening consequences’ which could be felt if a ‘lifeline bus route is axed.

The 62 bus service, connecting Runcorn and Warrington, is set to be withdrawn next month.

Moore resident Julie Holden raised fears with her local Labour MP Mike Amesbury that the withdrawal of the service will particularly affect local students.

Without the bus service, youngsters attending Bridgewater High School and Priestley and Sir John Deane’s colleges will not have a public transport route to get to Warrington, and students would be forced to travel on Runcorn Road.

She said: “In the autumn months, with light deteriorating, it is not safe for a child to be on these routes with the current volume of traffic, driving behaviours and no lighting.”

Julie also expressed her anxieties that local residents, particularly the elderly, will not have a route to go and do shopping, get to banks, access community services and attend health appointments without access to a bus route.

“We are a rural community, we need our lifelines,” she continued.

“We are being encouraged to act in a more environmentally responsible manner. What does removing a bus service, of which there is only one bus an hour, do to contribute to this?”

Over the weekend, Weaver Vale MP Mr Amesbury told Warrington’s Own Buses he was ‘extremely disappointed’ by the decision.

He said: “The withdrawal of this service is of particular concern to the village of Moore and Sandymoor, both of which will be left without any direct bus service, rendering these communities effectively inaccessible by public transport.”

“The current advised alternatives listed by Warrington’s Own Buses – 32, 110, and X30 – do not currently serve either of these communities.”

Mr Amesbury says this latest cut is another example of why ‘Conservative bus service deregulation must be reversed to give passengers and communities the public transport they deserve’.

He also wrote to Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotherham and Halton Borough Council, asking them to step in and save the number 62 bus route.

Warrington’s Own Buses says that despite a subsidy from Halton Borough Council, the service is being withdrawn due to funding reductions which make it unviable.