Trago Mills loses staff after Bodmin bus route cut

A discount store branch in Cornwall has lost members of staff after the "tragic" cutting of a bus route, managers say.

Go Cornwall Bus has dropped the number 11 service that used to run from Bodmin Parkway railway station to Liskeard along the A38 and drop into the Trago Mills store in the Glynn Valley en route. Passengers now are asked to travel from Bodmin Parkway to Liskeard via train and catch a bus from there.

Cornwall Council said passenger numbers "had reduced significantly" and the route was "no longer sustainable".

Go Cornwall Bus said bosses were "genuinely sorry" over Trago job losses, but it could not reinstate the service unless funding could be found to support its cost.

Ellie Robertson, business developments director at Trago Mills, said: "We weren't approached by the bus company in any way, shape or form.

"The first thing we knew about it was a new timetable was put down on the bus stop.

"We wrote to the bus company and to Cornwall Council and tried to fight the decision, but, unfortunately, they have gone along with the changes, which has meant we have lost staff over it.

"It's really sad on top of the redundancies that we've just gone through. It couldn't have come at a worst time. It's tragic."

Ms Robertson said they a post on their social media had had a huge response.

She said: "Dozens and dozens of people saying they used to shop with us but they no longer can, which is heartbreaking to hear. We need every sale we can get at the moment.

"We put memos up on the staff notice board so that people could put their name forward for car sharing. We've had a little bit of an uptake on that.

"But it's really hard because everyone works in different departments and has different start and finish times and different shift patterns.

"Fortunately, one of our members of staff that has been with us for 40 years, who was going to have to leave because he couldn't get the bus anymore, we did manage to get a car share for him, so we do get to keep Steve the gardener."

Jenny Day, catering assistant at the store, used that service and said: "Initially I could catch one bus into work at a decent time and one bus home. Now I have to catch two buses to get into work and rely on lifts to get home.

"If I miss a bus or there's a bad connection, it means getting a taxi into work, which from Liskeard costs £12, which is what happened the other day.

"People from Bodmin, and one in particular that I worked with, had to leave.

"In fact, two or three people have had to leave because there is just no bus service anymore," she said.

Bob Winn, from Wadebridge, was a regular passenger on the former service, despite having his own car.

He said: "So, if you want to go Trago Mills, you want to go Liskeard, Saltash or Plymouth, hard luck.

"You have to go on the train, and we all know how much the train costs, so we just don't go anywhere. That's it."

Cornwall Council said: "Commercial bus services and those subsidised by the council on the supported network need passengers to be financially viable and ensure we can maximise the allocation of our limited resources.

"Services continue to run between Padstow, Wadebridge, Bodmin and Bodmin Parkway.

"Passengers can continue their journeys on to Liskeard and Plymouth by rail."

"These bus services are timed to ensure passengers can make reasonable connections with the trains at Bodmin Parkway."

Go Cornwall Bus managing director Richard Stevens said he was "genuinely sorry" staff had had to leave jobs, but that numbers of users going to Trago had fallen from 5,000 a year in 2022 to 1,500 people in the last 12 months.

He said: "It must be devastating and, for the people that were relying on this service, this withdrawal is life-changing and life-impacting... that's not lost on me at all.

"In terms of it can it be reinstated, if the money could be found to support the cost of the service, it could be reinstated.

"The difficultly we have at the moment is we are waiting for the government announcement for three years of funding for buses... So it will need public subsidy if we are to reinstate this link."

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