PEOPLE could become stranded if Arriva goes ahead with plans to close it Oswestry bus depot, the local MP has warned.

Helen Morgan has written to the transport company urging them to rethink their plans and in doing so protect jobs and continue to run local services.

Arriva revealed last week that it plans to close the depot on Salop Road and withdraw from running five bus services from the town.

But the Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire said the region's bus services are on 'the verge of exntinction' and she plans to raise issue with Shropshire Council.

In the letter to the bus company she said: "I was extremely disappointed to learn of Arriva’s proposals to close the bus depot in Oswestry and I urge the company to reconsider.

"I appreciate the financial impact that Shropshire Council’s cuts to bus funding have had on Arriva and service providers across the county, and will be raising this directly with the local authority.

"However, if passenger numbers are to increase then the public must be assured that they will be served by regular, reliable, local services.

"I fear that removing the Oswestry depot will reduce the quality of services in the area, several of which have already been criticised as unreliable by local users in recent times.

"It is also critical that staff members jobs are protected throughout this process."

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Ms Morgan has campaigned for public transport improvements in rural areas and has called on the Government and Shropshire Council to support them.

She recently raised the issue in Parliament and her Bus Services Bill is due for its second reading in the House of Commons next week.

The law would make sure that market towns and nearby villages are served by bus services that ensure residents are able to reach key services such as GP surgeries, schools and onward connections.

Ms Morgan spoke about impact cuts have on people who don't have access to a car.

She said: "People without cars are being stranded across Shropshire because of cuts to buses and the lack of public transport here.

“More buses are needed to connect patients with doctors, shoppers with high streets and students with schools.

"But Shropshire Council has slashed the subsidies it pays providers and the Government has refused all of the county’s bids for bus funding.

"Their failure to invest is punishing communities and stalling the rural economy.

"It is therefore particularly disappointing that Arriva is threatening to shut the Oswestry depot."

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