A BUSINESS leader has accused Bournemouth’s bus companies of saturating the profitable routes at the expense of residents in other areas.

Steve Kent said Wilts & Dorset and Yellow Buses were “cutting services and fighting over the same areas”.

Mr Kent, head of Boscombe Traders Association, was addressing the head of Wilts & Dorset buses, Alex Carter, at a meeting of Bournemouth Chamber of Trade.

Wilts & Dorset recently decided to terminate crosstown services at Boscombe rather than Christchurch.

Mr Kent said: “Prices have gone up 25-30 per cent while services had gone down 20 per cent.

“Between you and Yellow Buses you are saturating certain routes and people can’t get buses home from other routes in the evening.

“You should be able to negotiate which routes you cover.”

Mr Carter replied: “The price increase is down to the cost of fuel – our bill is probably double what is was three years ago.”

He said stopping services at Boscombe meant more resources were put into more frequent services.

“We have deregulated bus services. That’s the world we live in. From a commercial operator’s point of view, we run buses where we can pick up the most passengers,” he added.

“Bus companies are strictly forbidden by the competition act from co-operating. A new transport bill allows some co-ordination through the local authority but that’s very early days. We are keen to explore that.”

Transdev Yellow Buses said afterwards it had spent £1.5 million on buses covering the 1a route through Boscombe.

Tony Williams, Bournemouth Council’s executive director for the environment, said: “Over the last three years there’s been a 40 per cent increase in bus patronage.”