The airport bus service connecting Nottingham with East Midlands Airport is to be axed, just months after it started.
Bus operator Premiere Travel is stopping its 24-hour Red Flyer service, which it has run since March.
A company spokesman said "despite our best efforts and
support from regular customers we can no longer afford to continue the
service".
He added without financial support "it was always going to be a challenge".
Managing director Steve Greaves said many people had fought to save the service and had gone out of their way to help.
But he said the company had been "unable to find a sustainable solution".
Chris Ward, of Notts County Council transport and travel services, said: "At the present time we are not looking to replace this as there is an alternative service to East Midlands Airport from Nottingham provided by the Trent Barton Skylink service."
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Shock-loss-making-Red-Flyer-airport-bus-faces-axe/story-17018907-detail/story.html
From the Premiere website
It is with regret that we have to
announce that the Red FLYER route from Nottingham to East Midlands
Airport will no longer operate after service on Sunday 18th November.
For a long period of time this route has been losing money, but since we
said that it may end due to these losses many of our regular customers
offered to pay higher fares in an attempt to keep the service running.
We set up a scheme called Red Flyer Club and raised fares to try to make
up this revenue shortfall. The target was to get 75 customers to join
the scheme, however the number of applications has been less than half
of this target.
We also went to employers along the
route, the Airport and local councils to ask if they wanted to make any
financial contribution, but all approaches were unsuccessful.
We now have to look at the reduced
customer numbers during the quiet winter months and the A453 widening
scheme that will see closures of this main route for long periods during
the next two years. With the diversion route also affected by tram
works we feel that possible delays, leading to unreliability, will also
adversely affect customer numbers.
With the previous service along this
route heavily subsidised, taking it on without financial support was
always going to be a challenge. Despite our best efforts and support
from our regular customers which we thank them for, we can no longer
afford to continue losing money every day.
All paper tickets such as 10trips and
unlimited travel purchased on the bus should be used up before the
service ends. Any customers with travel cards purchased from our office
should call 0115 985 1111 for further information.
A message from owner and founder of Premiere...
"Special thanks to those
people who have fought to save the Red FLYER and gone out of their way
to help us keep the service. We are sorry that we have been unable to
find a sustainable solution"
Steve Greaves - Managing Director
