A couple who feel they have exhausted every possibility of getting Stage Coach Bus Company to revert their decision regarding the times of buses into Ross have been told that the new times are the best way of retaining services whilst taking into account a lower demand for buses.

James O’Neill, Commercial Manager Stagecoach told the Ross Gazette:?“Back in September 2017 we made changes to most of our buses in Herefordshire and the Forest of Dean to both improve punctuality and reduce over-provision of journeys due to falling passenger numbers. This change included timing alterations to town buses 40 and 40A, with 40A in particular being absorbed into parallel journeys on 34, 35 and 36 through Tudorville. To avoid high cost (thereby making it more sustainable) buses on 40 shifted times to leave at half past the hour through the mid-morning at 10.30, 11.30 and 12.30. This enabled them to be run by the bus running on to Monmouth and Hereford as 34 and 36.”

Mr O’Neil is very aware of the identity of the couple who contacted the Ross Gazette who asked not to be named in the paper. He said:?“They have made contact on several occasions to discuss their concerns with our change and the possible adverse affect on patronage.” He said that he understands the difficulty they face with making connections from the town bus to Service 33 on to either Hereford or Gloucester.

He added:?“Unfortunately, creating this connection requires the full timetable to be shifted by 10 minutes on either Services 34/36/40 or Service 33 itself. At the present time we feel this could disrupt more customer journeys than it helps, particularly given that at certain times of day these services carry large volumes of scholars and commuters. For this reason we’ve so far held back from making further changes.”

Retaining the timetables in place prior to September 2017 would, he said, have either seen the network continue to lose significant sums of money or require an increase to the financial contribution made by Herefordshire Council.

Mr O’Neil said:?“The changes made were ultimately our best efforts to retain a service at nearly every stop on the network whilst taking into account a lower demand for our buses.”See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now