Hawkesbury villagers' fury at plans to axe Cov bus service

[dutchman]

Villagers near Coventry say they are outraged at plans to scrap a bus service in the area.



The number 60 bus, which carries passengers between Hawkesbury Village and Coventry city centre, will be withdrawn from Saturday February 25.

Warwickshire County Council has said plans are in place to provide some sort of replacement but residents are worried it will not provide the same level of service.

The current service is run by National Express Coventry, which used to be called Travel Coventry.

In August, the village’s bus number 778, which took people to Bedworth via both George Eliot and University hospitals, was also scrapped, despite a petition signed by 500 residents, who were furious at losing a bus service which was seen as a lifeline, especially for the elderly.

The service was stopped after funding from the county council, which subsidised it, was withdrawn.

It was replaced with a shopper service, the Flexibus 209, but it does not run as regularly as the previous service.

Lynne Price, chairman of Hawkesbury Village Residents’ Association, said people living in the village are outraged by the latest plans to remove the number 60 bus.

“We are in 2012 and the public transport in the village is going backwards not forwards,” she said.

“People of the village need to start standing up and fight for a service that is vital to this community. It is ridiculous that an area such as Hawkesbury Village can be expected to run without a regular bus service.

“People are reliant on basic amenities like a bus service and this will have a very negative impact on many residents who don’t have access to a car or are not able to walk almost a mile to the nearest bus stop.

“We have only recently been made aware of this decision and if National Express does remove this service, it will end in only five weeks.”

A spokesman for the county council said there would be some sort of replacement for the Number 60 bus, but the details would not be revealed until later this week.

“Following the commercial decision by Travel Coventry to withdraw the number 60 service Warwickshire County Council is working on options to replace the service. A decision is expected on this shortly,” she said.

A spokesman for National Express Coventry confirmed changes were being made to various bus services as part of a network review.

He added the company would be working with the county council as it considers alternative solutions for Hawkesbury Village.

[dutchman]

Coventry residents claim victory after Centro improve 778 bus service

RESIDENTS in Coventry have claimed a victory after Centro bosses agreed to improve a bus route in the city.

The number 778 via Henley Road will now run an hourly service through to University Hospital, Bell Green, Arena Park and Nuneaton.

It used to run every two hours following the bus network review in February.

But residents and councillors campaigned for a more regular service.

Steve Hayes, regional manager for Centro, said: “With any major review there follows a bedding-in period where we observe the new network and ask people for their observations as to how well they think it is working. This is one of those occasions where people have given us their feedback and we have acted upon it with our partners to offer a better service.”

Representatives of Centro will be at the Henley ward forum at St Phillips Church, Ringwood Highway, Potters Green, tomorrow from 7pm to discuss the improvements.

Coun Kevin Maton, (Labour, Henley) said: “This is great news. It is one of those occasions where people were consulted, listened to and positive action was taken.

“We will continue to work with residents and Centro to monitor and suggest further improvements to bus services in the area.”