The planned new timetables of the Groningen Drenthe public transport agency for 2023 are provoking resistance in some parts of the province. In total, about seventy objections were submitted in Drenthe and Groningen.
In Drenthe most objections come from the villages Een and Westervelde. Because Arriva in Friesland plans to merge line 84 (Drachten Haulerwijk Een Norg Assen) and line 14 (Oosterwolde-Veenhuizen-Assen), the bus threatens to disappear from the two villages. In the new situation, the merged line would run from Drachten via Haulerwijk and Veenhuizen to Assen.
According to the public transport agency, a total of eight residents from Een and three from Zuidvelde use the bus line every day. A small number, but both villages see the disappearance of the bus as an attack on the quality of life. In the new situation, bus users will first have to cycle five kilometers to Norg from December, before they can take the bus to Assen. And that means extra travel time, especially for students who have to go to Assen and students in Groningen.
Objections have also been sent to the Public Transport Bureau from Emmen and Hoogeveen. In Emmen, the city lines 1 and 2 that run between the station and the Angelslo and Emmerhout districts will disappear in the concept plans. The municipality of Hoogeveen is in danger of losing the Westerbork-Hoogeveen and Zuidwolde-Balkbrug lines.
It remains to be seen exactly how many objections were received. “Up to yesterday, people could send in their objections, and we will also take objections that come in today. We still have to fully map all those objections,” says spokesperson Jorne Bonte of the Groningen Drenthe public transport agency. “That will soon be clear. Then we will send all responses to the board. Partly on the basis of this, it will be decided what we will do next year.”
Corona has caused shortages at the public transport agency. Last year the organization suffered a loss of more than four million euros and the expectations for the future are not optimistic. A deficit of 33 million euros is expected in Drenthe and Groningen over the next four years. The cause lies in higher costs and fewer passengers.
To absorb these costs, the timetable is being cut. In addition, the price of a bus ticket will be slightly increased, the public transport agency will make a selection from its own reserves and the provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and the municipality of Groningen will have to pay extra.
In view of the necessary cutbacks, the objections to the planned timetable for next year seem unlikely. But according to Bonte, that is up to the board. “They will have to make trade-offs.”