Stagecoach's 28 bus service which goes between Newark, Southwell and Mansfield set to continue after public consultation meetings

A bus service that was reduced as part of a cost-cutting exercise, then fully reinstated in the autumn after a public outcry, looks set to continue.

That was the good news for users of Stagecoach’s number 28 bus service following two public consultation meetings.

The service was reduced in September but then the timetable was re-instated just three weeks later because of the impact on commuters to Newark from Southwell.

The changes proved unpopular with passengers and, following discussions with Nottinghamshire County Council and with financial support from them, Stagecoach agreed to reinstate the original timetable on October 1 to allow time for a further bus service review in the new year.

The latest review of bus services was subject to public consultation, with members of the public invited to two consultation events on Monday, February 11 and last Thursday, February 21, at Southwell Library, with the county council saying that passengers travelling between Mansfield and Southwell or Newark using services 28 and 29 would continue to have the same level of service with only a few minor changes to departure times.

Services between Southwell and Newark will continue to be every hour, but these will alternate between the 28 and 29 routes to provide Fiskerton, Rolleston and Upton a service every two hours.

The council also hopes to revise service 300 to serve the residents of Upton between Southwell and Newark.

The consultation ran until Monday and all details, including the proposed routes and timetables, were available on the Stagecoach website until the closing date, to give people the opportunity to respond. Passenger response and comment forms were also available on the buses and at the bus station in Southwell so bus users could make their views known.

Nottinghamshire County Council’s transport and travel services manager, Chris Ward, said: “Both consultation events on February 11 and 21 went well, with around 120 people attending in total.

“A representative from both Stagecoach and the county council explained the current situation, the pressures on the route and how the two organisations had arrived at the proposals.

“The majority of comments were concerned with fares, ticketing and student travel, along with the real concern of rural isolation.

“Stagecoach will announce their final plans very shortly.”

But one bus campaigner, Laurence Goff, is concerned that there is no direct bus service for people without a car who want to visit patients in King’s Mill Hospital, Sutton-in-Ashfield.

He said: “At the moment you have to travel on three buses to get to King’s Mill from Newark, a journey that takes two and a half hours.

“That is a round trip of five hours, and in the evening there is no bus service at all to take you to the hospital, so if you don’t have your own transport it is very difficult to visit patients in the evening.”

Mr Goff would like to see a direct bus service to the hospital introduced and he wants to hear from other people who share his views to see if there is sufficient interest to start a campaign.

If you agree with Mr Goff and would like to start a campaign for a direct bus link to the hospital, you can contact him on 07794613879.