Councils look for funding to continue night bus

Service reduces crime in North Devon

Further funding to continue a night bus service in North Devon which is said to have helped cut anti-social behaviour (ASB) by a third is to be considered by two district councils.

Torridge and North Devon say feedback from a trial in December 2023 and a Saturday service during July, August and September this year has been positive.

The North Devon service provided by Stagecoach this summer covered Bideford, Barnstaple and Ilfracombe, carrying 1,485 passengers paying a government-subsisided maximum fare of £2 per journey.

It was introduced to help tackle drink-driving, ASB and violence against women and girls.

Traditionally during the summer months and longer evenings police record more offences, as the population of Devon and Cornwall increases because of holidaymakers.

Crime and ASB fell by 35 per cent compared to the same period last summer in North Devon.

Some 659 people also used night buses in Newquay where offences fell 10 per cent.

There were fewer drink driving offences than the year before.

The bus services were set up by Devon and Cornwall Police and funded by Devon County Council, North Devon Council, Torridge District Council, Cornwall County Council, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner and independent charity Crimestoppers.

Cllr Philip Hackett (Ind, Broadheath), lead member for community safety on Torridge District Council, said the authority would consider funding the service again.

North Devon Council contributed just £750 this year towards night buses but would look to see if it could find more money, describing the service as “successful and much-valued.”

A spokesperson for Stagecoach South West said: ‘We’re delighted with the results of the summer night bus service in North Devon. Being part of an initiative that has provided a safe and affordable evening travel option for people that has made a clear positive impact on the community is fantastic.”

Sergeant Dave Flynn, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: “It is difficult to know how many crimes we managed to prevent, but it is heartening that those on a night out in North Devon felt confident and reassured to use this handy form of public transport.  Local CCTV operators also reported that the town centre areas cleared of people more quickly once pubs and clubs had closed, thanks to the bus services.”

Devon and Cornwall police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez has committed to improving female safety and tackling “the scourge of violence in our communities, whether in the home or in public places” and has reinforced the message not to drive under the influence or drink or drugs.

“Getting home safely, whether from work or a night out in town, should not be a nice-to-have, it should be a given,” she said when the night bus service began this summer. “All women and girls deserve to stay safe at night and feel confident that their safety is our concern.”

“This bus service offers people of all ages the opportunity to leave their cars at home, safe in the knowledge they have a cheap and convenient way of getting home safely – right up until the early hours of the morning.”

Police are “hopeful” they will obtain funding to run the night bus service again  in the coming months.