YOUR newspaper has, over the last few months, been generous in reporting our efforts to create the Launceston Commun­ity Transport Partnership leading up to the recent inaugural trip of the Launceston Community Bus.

Your readers may therefore be interested to hear of an unfortunate development that will penalise potential passengers who live in Devon.

Following a recent government directive, councils in Devon have decided that they are unable to fund concessionary fares for our Little Red Bus services.

We pick up passengers as near to their home as we can, and adjust our routes daily to accommodate the demand, so of necessity the seats are pre-booked, and this is the stumbling block.

We anticipate a high proportion of our passengers will be elderly and entitled to use a bus pass, but those from Devon will now be unable to access that subsidy.

Our service was designed to benefit everyone in the area, irrespective of which side of the county border they reside. Its creation was always going to be a difficult task but this additional hurdle is truly dispiriting and has not improved our prospects of success.

We are pleased to report that Cornwall Council will continue to support rural transport by maintaining a concessionary fare scheme in the county, so our Cornish residents may continue to use the Little Red Bus with their bus passes.

To enable everyone to make use of our service, Launceston Community Transport Partnership has agreed to offer a seat to bus pass holders from Devon at a price of £2. This will be for a limited period only and will be reviewed in three months.

Whilst this change of policy is as much a disappointment to us as it will be to anyone affected, we hope passengers will agree that the service still provides excellent value for money.

To book a seat on any village service, ring 0844 3573277 between 12.30pm and 2.30pm Monday to Friday, one week to one day in advance of the journey.

Chairman,

Launceston Community Transport Partnership,

South Petherwin.