Free Bus Travel Extended for Rutland’s Callconnect Service
Government grant means on-demand service will stay free for another year
Bus travel will remain free for another year on Rutland’s Callconnect service, after a government grant was awarded to the county council.
The on-demand service, which launched last March, connects Rutland’s villages to main bus routes and key destinations like GP surgeries, schools and transport hubs.
A fare of one pound per journey was originally planned after an initial three-month free period, but the council has confirmed free travel will continue until at least the summer of 2025.
The move comes after Rutland County Council received nearly four hundred and seventy two thousand pounds from the Department for Transport.
Transport boss Councillor Christine Wise said:
“This service is crucial to get an ageing population to health services and to enable people to get out and about, especially in a time of financial constraints."
"We are only a year in and are trying to get people to make that modal shift to using the bus service.”
She added, “The service is not perfect yet and we can use this extra year of free funding to iron out any remaining issues.”
Council leader Councillor Gale Waller said:
“Any change to public transport services takes a while to become embedded and to bring in charges now would detract from increasing use of the service."
"It is excellent that we can continue this offer for at least another year and I think it is important to stress that the cost is covered from the government grant not by council funds.”
The Callconnect service has led to universal coverage of bus routes across Rutland, with 20 villages now having access to public transport for the first time.
The council says customer feedback has been positive and passenger numbers continue to rise.