Council to look at all options before deciding future for Mansfield and Ashfield 141 bus service

Bus operator Stagecoach has announced it wants to keep running the 141 service serving areas like Ravenshead, Blidworth, Rainworth, Mansfield, Sutton and Skegby, as well as Hucknall, Linby and Bestwood Village.

And opposition councillors have called on the Conservative-led authority at County Hall to remove any speculation by confirming subsidies will be kept in place to maintain the service.

However, the council says it will look at all options first before making a decision in due course.

Coun Neil Clarke, cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “In July 2022, we announced we would be further subsidising the 141 bus service for a period of 12 months so that it could continue to serve local people.

“At that time we ran an extensive procurement exercise and Stagecoach took over operating the service from September 2022.

“Ensuring people can remain connected by public transport is a high priority for us and we have been very proactive in supporting local bus services.

"We currently support 80 bus services in Nottinghamshire at a cost of £4.1 million a year.

“Since August 2022, we have launched four on-demand bus zones across Nottinghamshire to further support residents where services had been amended or withdrawn to ensure that they still had access to public transport for leisure, work and health.

“In March, we announced that we would be supporting a number of other bus services, which would have otherwise been withdrawn by operators, using funding from the Department for Transport (DfT), secured through our Bus Service Improvement Plan.

“We are currently reviewing all services supported through the local bus budget, including the 141 service, to look at any gaps in service provision across the county.

“Council officers have been working hard to put together a range of options for the future of the 141 bus service which would maintain, or even improve, the service in line with our manifesto commitment that every community in Nottinghamshire is served by good, reliable public transport.

“We are now in the process of reviewing these to ensure value for money for both residents and the Nottinghamshire taxpayer.

“We will be making a definitive announcement about the route and communities currently served by the 141 in the near future.”

Coun Tom Smith, who represents Rainworth and Blidworth has long campaigned for the service to be saved and has also added his voice to those calling for the council to ensure the 141 bus continues to run.

Coun Smith – a regular use of the service from his division to County Hall – said: “I’m pleased the council has taken my lobbying onboard and, for the last year or so, have been working hard to tackle the issues of buses and bus provision across Nottinghamshire.

"I'll keep pushing for my residents in Rainworth and Blidworth and the council I know will continue to work with bus providers to find the most useful, feasible and positive bus provision we can.”