Extra evening bus services for Winchester suburbs (From Hampshire Chronicle)
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Extra evening bus services for Winchester suburbs
5:23pm Thursday 6th September 2012 in Winchester By Wesley Rock
Extra evening bus services for Winchester suburbs
CITY councillors look set to break their budget in a bid to secure late evening bus services for four Winchester suburbs.
Badger Farm, Stanmore, Weeke and Harestock will all benefit from three extra services linking them with the city centre.
Bus companies were invited to submit tender prices for two different timetable plans, with Winchester Town Forum’s expenditure for the scheme set at £10,000.
Option one would have seen two extra service routes, or ‘loops’, option two would provide for three extra loops.
County Council bosses favour option two, meaning Stagecoach’s proposal for the second option will move forward, despite exceeding the allocated budget by nearly £3,000. It is understood that the additional £2,804 will be drawn from the individual budgets of county council divisional members.
The budget is set for a period of two years, with councillors preferring the more expensive option in the belief that it will be better used and therefore sustainable in the long term.
At a Winchester Town Forum meeting next Wednesday (September 12) councillors are expected to recommend that the county council enter into a contract with Stagecoach.
