News

Disappointment as Sunday bus service petition fails

By Stephanie Cockroft
February 22, 2012

PENSIONERS have been left disappointed after a petition calling for a Sunday bus route in parts of Aldershot was turned down.

Rita Jones handed over a 90-signature petition to Hampshire County Council, which asked for one of the weekday services in the Tices Meadow and Heronwood estates to be extended to a Sunday.

She claimed she and her neighbours were left isolated and had no other way of getting into the town centre on that day.

But the council has now told residents it does not have the funding to introduce a new service.

Councillor Melville Kendal, executive member for environment and transport, said any introduction of a service would end up with weekday routes elsewhere being affected.

He also said there had not been a Sunday service in that area for about 20 years.

Mrs Jones, 73, said it was a disappointing decision but the residents would have to "get on with it".

She said: “I do kind of see the council’s point, but it is still hard for us when we are stuck in the house and have nowhere to go on a Sunday.

“I just started the petition to see how many people felt they needed the service and it turned out to be a lot.

“I guess we will have to find another way to get to places instead. It is a shame. We feel really isolated.”

Mrs Jones also said it was true there had not been a service in the area for decades - but she said shops and services were now open on Sundays when they never used to be.

Councillor Mike Roberts, who represents the Heron Wood ward, said it was "unfair" the residents should be "marooned" on a Sunday, adding that he was disappointed with the response from the county council.

Cllr Kendall said all bus services supported by the authority were reviewed last year, after its funding from government was slashed.

He said the council had asked residents how the reduced grant should be spent.

“Priority has been given to Monday to Friday daytime services which meet the widest range of travel needs for work, education, food shopping, doctor’s appointments and leisure," Cllr Kendall said.

Andrew Dyer, managing director of Stagecoach South, said the route was not commercially viable.

“Whilst we monitor bus usage to look for potential improvements and new routes, we have no evidence that there is enough demand to run commercially viable Sunday services at this time," Mr Dyer said.

| Submit Comments | View Comments (2)

« Previous Story | Next Story »

Most recent user comments 2 of 2

Show 15 | 25 | 50 per page

Spot on Lily; it's not just pensioners who would benefit from Sunday bus services. Many people (including myself) work and shop on the weekends.

Perhaps gethampshire.co.uk would be willing to "advertise" a future petition here on their website. Interested parties could then share the link via social networking.

DaveG
07/03/2012 at 00:26

I live in this area but I never knew about a petition for a much needed sunday bus service. As said above, a lot of the shops in Aldershot town were closed 20 years ago. I wonder how many other people would have signed a petition had they known about it. Its not just pensioners that need a sunday bus, it would be for all the people who can't afford cars. A bus service 2 or 3 times a day would have been great . Maybe another petition could be put forward next year (2013)but better advertised. I am sure you could get at least twice the amount of people to sign. Worth another try.. Lily