The municipality of Westerkwartier finds the proposal of the public transport agency Groningen-Drenthe to reduce the number of bus lines in the region unacceptable. The public transport agency – client of bus transport in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe – proposes this in the 2024 timetable.
According to the municipality, the adjustments amount to a significant decline in public transport in the municipality and are at the expense of accessibility and therefore quality of life in the villages.
These are bus line 36 Oldehove – Winsum, bus line 35 Oldehove-Groningen, Q-link 3 Leek-Groningen and Q-liner 304 Drachten-Groningen.
For bus line 36, the proposal is to run it only during rush hours. The bus no longer runs in the evenings. If the public transport agency is faced with cutbacks, there is a chance that this bus line – the only one between the villages of Garnwerd, Aduarderzijl, Feerwerd, Ezinge, Saaksum and Oldehove – will disappear completely.
Revision of the timetable
For bus line 35, it is also proposed to omit the journeys in the evenings. Reducing the journeys of Q-link 3 and Q-liner 304 means a decline in the accessibility of Groningen and Drachten. This is especially true for residents of Leek, Tolbert, Marum, Boerakker and Midwolde, who use these bus lines.
Municipalities can respond to the draft 2024 timetable of the Public Transport Agency until 14 June 2023. In his response, Westerkwartier strongly asks to abandon the austerity and to review the timetable.
Protests have also been lodged in other villages in the province of Groningen against the austerity of the timetable.