Calls to reverse 'isolating' bus route changes
SuppliedMore than 450 people have signed a petition calling for the reversal of changes to bus routes which they describe as "isolating".
Alterations to the 10 and 11 services run by Stagecoach in Sunderland saw some stops changed in the Pallion and Ford Estate areas on Sunday, including the removal of a stop outside Dovecote Meadows residential home.
Resident Rose Allen, 88, said she was "quite miffed" as she was late for a doctor's appointment because of the time taken to walk up a bank to the next bus stop, while other residents were nervous to cross the busy road.
Stagecoach said the changes followed consultation events in the area and a review "to ensure services remain reliable and sustainable".
Allen said: "You just haven't got any energy left when you go up to the bus stop because it's all uphill.
"A lot of people are pushing walking frames."
Petition organiser and Ford Estate resident Darren Stanford, 51, said the changes were "very isolating".
Stanford said elderly residents previously relied on the bus to go and collect their pensions from the Post Office on Midmoor Road, which has seen its bus stop taken out of service.
"Some of them can't walk round the corner to the new bus stops, they're physically too old and they can't do it," he said.
"The bus has been going up and down that road for years and years."
Of the hundreds of petition signatures he collected over the past week, Stanford said: "I've had some crying on the doors and everything."
Liberal Democrat councillor for Pallion and Ford Estate Steve Donkin said elderly and disabled residents were among those "hardest hit" and faced increased isolation and costs.
"It's just not good enough," he said.
Darren StanfordA Stagecoach North East spokesperson said it removed services from Midmoor Road because of "long-standing parking difficulties".
The company said buses were operating on the next available parallel streets, St Luke Road and Fordfield Road.
"With the changes, Pallion and Ford Estate continue to be served by routes 10 and 11, running up to every 15 minutes, all day, every day," the spokesperson said.
"The route change means customers now board and alight the bus on the same side of the road, which enables improved co-ordination between buses for customers in these areas."
