(Updated) Major Bus Changes In Coventry

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Coventry bus timetables and route changes approved

CONTROVERSIAL changes to Coventry’s bus timetables and routes have been formally approved.

The changes were signed off at a ceremony at Pool Meadow bus station after coming into effect on February 26.

They include new routes and bus shelters, but many passengers have complained about the loss of certain services, including the numbers 1, 33 and 34.

Centro insisted comments would be taken on board.

Area manager Steve Hayes said: “The people of Coventry can be assured that we will be listening to their feedback and working with bus operators to identify areas that, wherever possible, can be improved.”

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Bell Green residents demand action over re-routing of bus service



Disgruntled residents in Coventry have demanded urgent action over a new bus route which they say is blighting their lives.

Dozens of Dudley Street residents in Bell Green gathered for a public meeting with a local ward councillor on Saturday to present a petition calling for a new bus route through their street to be scrapped.

Nearly 100 people signed the petition requesting the number 6A bus service from Tile Hill to Victoria Farm – which used to go via Proffitt Avenue and Old Church Road but now runs through their road – to be re-routed away from their homes.

They spoke to Councillor George Duggins (Lab, Longford) about their frustrations at Bell Green Community Centre, Old Church Road, and blasted the consultation process over changes to bus routes.

They claimed National Express, which operates the bus, failed to inform them about the plan to re-route the frequent service down their street as part of a controversial city-wide shake-up of its services which came into force last month.

Residents said their lives have been made a misery because their once quiet street is blighted by the constant noise of buses and disruption to traffic.

Dudley Street resident Baj Panesar believes the route is an accident waiting to happen.

The 44-year-old said: “Dudley Street has always been a quiet road but the buses run every few minutes in both directions disturbing people, especially those who work shifts.

“The road is too narrow and there have been incidents where cars have had to reverse all the way back down the road because a bus is trying to get through. There are two primary schools in the area and the drivers speed down the road. It’s an accident waiting to happen.

“No one knew this was going to happen and people are horrified, that’s why we collected signatures for a petition in the hope that the council can do something to help.”

Fellow Dudley Street resident Frank Bonsor, 60, said he only received notification of the plan in a letter two days before the new route was implemented.

He said: “I’ve lived in Dudley Street for 40 years and visitors have always been impressed by how quiet it is, even friends who live in villages. I got my letter on February 24 and the buses started running on February 26. The company’s tried to push this through via the back door.”

Councillor Duggins admitted he shared their concerns and plans to present the petition at a forthcoming council meeting.

National Express has said previously that changes were brought in after consultation with more than 1,000 people.

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1,500 sign petition for more buses on historic Coventry bus route


Coun Bally Singh and David Wildgoose

Hundreds of bus passengers have signed a petition calling for a more frequent service to cover Coventry’s oldest bus route.

A petition signed by 1,450 people aims to put pressure on bus company bosses to run more buses along the old number 1 route.

It used to run hourly through Chapelfields and Earlsdon to Toll Bar End, via the city centre, before it was axed last month in a shake-up of city bus routes.

It has been replaced with the number 49 bus, but residents complain it now only operates three times a day.

The weighty document has now been presented by petition organisers David Wildgoose and Councillor Bally Singh (Lab, Whoberley) in a meeting with Centro and National Express representatives at the Council House.

David Wildgoose, 65, of Donnington Avenue, Coundon, says he has used the service for years.

“The number 1 was very important because it was the only bus link between Chapelfields and Earlsdon and the shops in the south of the city,” he said.

“I’ve used the service a lot over the years and there used to be about one every hour during the day, but now the number 49 only runs three every day.

“When it came to getting signatures, it was like pushing against an open door because so many people wanted to support it.”

Malcolm Thomas, of Whoberley, was among the hundreds who signed the popular petition.

The 56-year-old said: “I used to use the number 1 to go into Earlsdon about three times a week. Now, after the changes, it’s an inconvenience.”

Councillor Singh said: “The number one bus was the oldest bus route in Coventry. It existed since 1926.

“After the number one bus was cancelled we managed to get a slight change to the number 49 route which was a small victory.

"Now we’re going back to Centro and National Express because we want it run more frequently.”

A Centro spokesman told the Telegraph they would be happy to look at residents’ concerns.

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Coundon woman hits out over changes to Canley Crematorum bus service

COUNDON woman Linda Gosnay has hit out at Centro following changes to the bus service outside Canley Crematorium.

The number 19 service no longer stops outside the crematorium, in Charter Avenue.

Linda, aged 51, who visits her father’s grave each Sunday, says she is angry and upset with the changes.

Centro bosses say they have replaced the service with the number 12 bus which stops in Henry Parkes Road, about 250 yards away from the crematorium.

Linda, of Stepping Stones Road, Coundon, said: “I’m angry not only because I find it difficult with the extra walk but I care about others like the elderly who have mobility problems.

“Now they are having to cross two busy roads which is dangerous.

“The bereaved are being forgotten and on a Sunday they are not getting the same quality of service.

With snow or frost on the ground this is a long walk even for the able-bodied.

“Centro are wrong taking a regular bus route away from Charter Avenue.”

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Bus campaigners celebrate number 1 victory

Campaigners angered by changes to one of the city's oldest bus routes are celebrating after their concerns were put right by Centro bosses.

Almost 1,500 people signed a petition against changes made to the number 1 following a review of several major bus routes across the city.

The Observer received a large number of complaints from elderly residents and school children whose journey would be badly affected by the changes to the service which was also renamed the number 49.

But Steve Hayes, Centro area manager for Coventry, has said he would increase the frequency of buses along the route and make it more direct between Chapelfields, Earlsdon and the railway station.

The changes have yet to be finalised and are unlikely to be implemented until June at the earliest.

He has also agreed to look into the possibility of reinstating the service as the number 1, which will effectively bring back the oldest bus service in the city, dating back to 1926.

"Centro are reviewing patronage on all parts of the 49 service," Mr Hayes said.

"I would have no objection to renumbering this service 1 as the route would be comparable to the former service of that number."

Centro has also revealed it was looking to provide a direct link between the west and east side of the city after the 34 bus route was scrapped in the review although that was unlikely to happen until October.

Coun Bally Singh said: "I would like to thank all the people who signed our petition because it is they who made the difference.

"Coventry's oldest bus service linking Earlsdon and Chapelfields since 1926 would have been consigned to history were it not for the huge support we received."