Telford bus route to be scrapped as timetables set to change

Bus users in the borough say the loss of route six will have an impact on elderly people who rely on the service to do their shopping.

Route six, which runs from Wellington to Telford Shopping Centre via Muxton will stop operating completely.

Councillor Vic Rainsford, member of Donnington and Muxton Parish Council, who has been a member of the area's bus users group for about six years says the closure will affect older people like him, as it is the only bus service which runs direct services to Aldi in Donnington.

The 83-year-old lives on Breton Park, a retirement park in Muxton. He says other older people living on the park will be badly affected by the loss of the service and that he has been in contact with Arriva to voice his concerns.

Mr Rainsford said: "Anyone who lives in Muxton will not be able to get to Aldi or directly into Wellington.

"If we want to get into Wellington now we will have to go to Telford Town Centre or Oakengates and get a second bus.

"Elderly people and those without transport will not have access to Aldi.

"It always seems to be down to time and money, there is no concern for the people that use the service. It might not be used very regularly, but it is a use for us."

Route nine, which runs between Bridgnorth and Telford Shopping Centre will also reduce from an hourly to a two-hourly service

Arriva says people wanting to access services from Broseley are able to maintain their service by also picking up the route 18 buses which will continue to run towards Telford on a revised time table.

But it isn't all bad news for Telford, with route three, the Telford to Brookside service, set to be increased to every 10 minutes from its current half-hourly service and route seven continuing to operate every 30 minutes on its full service from Wellington to Telford, but also seeing an increase in frequency to every 15 minutes between Wellington and Donnington Police Station.

The changes will come into force on September 3, Arriva says it will help it to ensure it is dedicating its resources into providing transport that will best serve Telford.

Rob Cheveaux, area managing director for Arriva Midlands West, said: "We have a strong core network throughout Shropshire, which we remain incredibly proud of, but it has become evident that changes must be made in order for us to deliver the most effective services possible where people will most benefit from them.

"Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, low passenger numbers on some of our routes have meant that it is no longer commercially viable for us to continue operating them as they currently are."

Arriva will be holding a roadshow in Telford Shopping Centre on August 30.