OAP 'stranded in home' after bus route changes

[dutchman]

A woman has hit out at the decision to alter a bus route through Coventry which she claims has left her 94-year-old mother “marooned in her home”.



Elizabeth Calleja says that the changes to National Express routes number 2 and 3 has left her mum Doris Lee with no way of getting in to the city centre as the buses no longer stop near enough to her home in Postbridge Road, Styvechale.

The bus company say the altered routes provide better service for shops in Baginton Road, Styvechale, and the biggest gap between a home and a bus stop in Postbridge Road is 390m – inside the required maximum distance.

Elizabeth said: “For years my mum has been making almost daily use of the number 2 and 3 buses, which have always stopped at bus stops within a reasonable distance of her home, to go into town and to meet up with her friends.

“However recently both buses have been stopped from stopping at the usual bus stops, and the one still in use is too far from her home to be any use to her.

“She now feels cut off from life and marooned in her home, and is sinking into depression as she can no longer get to places where she can meet with others and have a social life.

“I believe the wisdom of stopping all buses from stopping in Postbridge Road needs to be questioned as this road has a very high elderly population, many of whom previously used the bus service and who are now feeling its loss as acutely as my mother.

“Why not stop just one of the buses to fulfill the need to save money?

“Shouldn’t the needs of residents be taken into account also?

“The only thing my mother asks for is a bus service to be able to get out and about to shop for herself and it has been taken away from her.”

A spokesman for National Express Coventry said: “The changes to these services were based on customer feedback for greater links to the shops on Baginton Road, which service 3 now provides.

“The changes will also help improve the reliability of the services and we ensured that every resident on Postbridge Road was within 400 metres of a stop on the service.”