The college of mayor and aldermen in Aa and Hunze is concerned about the disappearance of several bus lines in the municipality. There are particular concerns about the accessibility of the area around Annerveenschekanaal.
The city council writes this in a letter to the OV Bureau Groningen Drenthe, which is responsible for the timetable.
Due to cutbacks, the public transport agency proposes to abolish three bus lines that run through the municipality in 2024. According to Aa and Hunze, if that happens, the accessibility of various villages in the municipality will come under pressure.
Once again, the municipality is fighting for the preservation of the bus through Annerveenschekanaal. Aa en Hunze is very concerned about the future accessibility of that village.
The Public Transport Agency wants to get rid of bus line 107, which runs between Stadskanaal and the Zernike campus in Groningen. This is the only regular bus that still runs through Annerveenschekanaal and Eexterveenschekanaal.
When line 107 disappears, residents will have to get on a direct bus ride to Groningen in Kiel-Windeweer (+5 km) or Annen (+7 km). To get to Stadskanaal, they will have to take the bus in Bareveld. The villages have not had a direct connection with Assen for years.
In addition, the public transport office may want to scrap line 77 between Gieten and Bareveld due to the low number of travelers. This makes it more difficult for residents of the area around Annerveenschekanaal to get to Gieten or Assen by public transport. The public transport office advises bus travelers to take the bicycle to Gieten from now on.
For residents of Annerveenschekanaal, it will feel like déjà vu: in 2019, the public transport agency already canceled bus stops in the village. After intervention by the municipality, a temporary bus stop for the express bus to Gieten was set up in Bareveld (+4 kilometres). Line 310 has now stopped there permanently, although the bus will run less often between Assen and Gieten on working days.
Aa en Hunze also points to the possible disappearance of bus line 59, between Exloo and Gieten. Eliminating that line would cause extra travel time, especially for residents of Gasselte and Ees.
The municipality calls on the public transport agency to investigate a way to finance unprofitable bus lines separately, in order to keep the lines going.