Heemskerk will do everything it can to improve the bus connection to the train stations of Uitgeest and Castricum. As it looks now, next year there will only be a bus to the stations once an hour in the evenings and on weekends. “Unacceptable,” says councilor Suanet. “The bottom has been reached, we are going to fight. Our residents have the right to be transported well.”
Heemskerk in action for improved bus connections – NH News
According to Suanet, the deterioration of public transport services started at the beginning of the corona crisis. In the video above he explains why and how he is trying to turn the tide.
Connexxion response
After an earlier protest from the municipality, bus company Connexxion provided a written response. “The current trip frequency is in accordance with the number of travelers who use the lines,” the company reports. “Even if the number of travelers were to increase significantly, the current frequency is still appropriate for the transport demand.”
In addition, the financial options are limited, says Connexxion, and we do not have enough drivers to significantly expand the timetable.”
Councilor Suanet thinks it is nonsense: “They have scaled everything down themselves and if there are no buses running, no customers will come. There is a lot of demand, I hear it all around me.”
“If there are no buses running, there will be no travelers”
Travelers confirm that it causes problems now that fewer buses are running. “If I miss it, I’ll be late for work,” says a saleswoman we meet at the stop.
In the video below, travelers explain why the bus line is important:
passenger: “if I miss the bus, I will be late for work” – NH News
Councilor Suanet indicates that he will not give up and assumes that two buses per hour will run to the stations in the new timetable. “This downscaling will mean that soon there will be no more people on public transport at all.” According to Suanet, that cannot be the intention.