A WOMAN made an impassioned plea at a county council meeting for the rural 106 bus to be brought back into service.

Rachel Lowis said that in the week since the withdrawal of the Kendal to Penrith bus, the consequences for communities on the route had been ‘catastrophic’.

Ms Lowis said elderly people were becoming isolated and left unable to get to doctors' appointments or do grocery shopping.

She said: “Yes, some of us have made the decision to live rurally, but we have done so knowing the services are there. These have now been taken away from us.

“We don't want politics, rhetoric, blame passing or any of that. We just want a lifeline to the wider world, a simple bus service.”

She urged the council to reinstate the subsidy for the service or consider making a smaller short term grant to a commercial provider to encourage them to take on the service.

Wigton-based coach company Reays had agreed to take on the threatened service following the withdrawal of subsidies from Cumbria County Council (CCC).

But the business axed the service just two days after taking it on when it came to light that it had not been officially registered with the transport commissioner.

Operators are required to give 56 days' notice before they start running a service but can apply to shorten this period.

A spokesperson for the transport commissioner’s office said Reays made three short notice applications on November 3 but withdrew them the day after, adding: “The applications would have been granted the same day if they had continued with the registrations.”

However Reays has since said that it is “looking at the situation” and Operations Manager Andy Horn said, “We are currently waiting for a couple of decisions to be made and certain things to fall into place.”

Rural residents in places such as Orton have launched a passionate campaign to ‘Bring Back the 106 Bus’, with an online petition having already gaining more than 500 signatures.

Mother-of-two Ann-Marie Wolstenholme, of Front Street, said she is now ‘stuck’ in the village, adding, “A lot of kids also use this service - when they get older they will want more independence but will now have to rely on parents.”

But a spokesperson for CCC said the authority “can’t not deliver on savings that we’ve already committed to making.”

Cllr Keith Little, portfolio holder for transport, told Ms Lowis: “This council is under extreme financial pressure – we have to save £213 million over the next three years and press on with difficult decisions.”

Cllr Little said the authority was committed to working ‘creatively’ to try and find a solution.