RESIDENTS were "dismayed" to discover a vital Oldham bus link has been cut to just one journey an hour, a councillor has revealed.

Chadderton Central councillor Elaine Taylor raised the issue of the 415 bus service at full council and asked what could be done to have the journey reinstated.

The 415 service, which is operated by First Bus, runs between Oldham and Middleton, passing through Chadderton and Middleton Junction.

From the end of October the service was revised to operate once an hour, with most daytime journeys extended to Oldham Mumps.

But bosses say they have no power to get the operator to reverse its decision, and do not have the funds to subsidise the extra service.

Cllr Taylor said they were also disappointed at the total lack of consultation with councillors and passengers before the decision was taken.

“The ward councillors and many residents in Chadderton Central ward were dismayed to learn that First Bus were making changes to the 415 bus service which would mean that the half hourly service would be reduced to an hourly service,” she said.

“Many of our residents depend on the 415 bus route to provide them with transport to Oldham College, Oldham town centre and recreational facilities such as Foxenden Park and Oldham leisure centre.

“These changes will have a detrimental impact on many of our residents, including young and older people wishing to access education, training, leisure and retail facilities.”

Cllr Taylor asked if the cabinet could raise the issue with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and First Bus, and do "all in their power to have that half hourly service to be reinstated".

Cabinet member for neighbourhoods, Coun Arooj Shah, responded: “The issue has already been raised with TfGM and First Manchester who operate the service.

“Unfortunately the nature of the bus service industry is such that neither the council or TfGM has any control over the route or the frequency of the service.

“Due to their budget position TfGM were unable to intervene to maintain the frequency of the 415 service, furthermore there is no duty on the operator to consult service users.

“Their only legal duty is to notify the local transport authority, which is TfGM, if they wish to make any changes.

“Recently the statutory notice period was increased from 56 to 70 days prior to service revision, TfGM have now also contacted First Bus and invited them to comment in response to this question, but as yet they have still not responded.

“We’ll continue to engage with TfGM and try and address the service issues and improve the offer to our residents.”