Crowland passengers slam cuts to number 37 bus service from Spalding to Peterborough

Bus users have voiced their frustrations after plans revealed that a key service will be cut.

The number 37 bus from Spalding to Peterborough, which has stops in Crowland and Cowbit, will be reduced from an hourly to a two-hourly service from Monday to Saturday.

It will also no longer offer a Sunday service.

The changes come as part of a Stagecoach review which is aiming to provide a network that reflects ‘post-pandemic traffic patterns’. They will come into effect at the end of October.

Crowland resident Rodney Sadd says a member of his family relies on the number 37 service for work - and that his neighbours depend on it as a whole.

He has written to MP Sir John Hayes and Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, expressing his disappointment.

Mr Sadd says there is ‘a strong feeling in Crowland now from people who wish to fight these substantially reduced services’.

Nigel Pepper, who represents Crowland and Cowbit on Lincolnshire County Council, is also frustrated by the Stagecoach decision.

He says he is consulting with transport figures at the council to ensure they are aware of the ‘predicament’.

Coun Pepper added: “It’s disappointing that this reduced service timetable has been thrust upon us without prior consultation, this will clearly have an impact on residents travelling to and from work and to schools.

“The first I heard was on social media yesterday evening (Tuesday).”

The re-shuffle of Stagecoach’s timetable will see 18 routes throughout Cambridgeshire scrapped due to falls in passenger numbers.

Stagecoach East managing director Darren Roe said inflation and rising fuel and energy bills have also contributed to the decision.