Telford passengers' fury in bus stranding claims
Bus passengers in Telford claim they have been left stranded after a bus route was altered to include the new village of Lightmoor.
Travellers on the number 77 bus said they now have to walk up a steep hill to get to one of the bus stops, which is proving difficult for elderly people.
A passenger, from Woodhouse Lane, who did not wish to be named, said the bus used to pick up people in Woodhouse Lane.
It then called at Doseley, Little Dawley, Finger Road, Dawley Centre and Malinslee.
She said passengers now had to walk to Bridge Road, in Horsehay, up a steep hill through the Suffolk Way estate, past Horsehay Pool and village hall.
She said: "It is quite a trek, especially when some of us have hip replacements and dodgy knees – certainly it is not going to be viable when bad weather arrives.
"Arriva say the decision to change the route was due to a fall in numbers. We dispute this.
"Having used the new route for two weeks and noted the number of passengers, there has only been a couple of times when anyone boarded the bus after Bridge Road, Horsehay.
"Arriva is running a longer route with less passengers. What is the logic in that, especially when shops and businesses in the town centre start to notice a drop in sales as the elderly haven't sufficient convenient transport to get there?"
A spokesman for Arriva Midlands said the service had changed due to a fall in passenger numbers.
"We changed the route to make the service more attractive for people to use.
"If people would like to contact us directly we can discuss their requests and see if anything can be done."
Write to Michael Stevens, General Manager, Arriva Midlands, Unit F, Stafford Park 18, Stafford Park, Telford, TF3 3BN.
