Protest over bus stop rejig

Bus passengers are complaining about a forthcoming change to their service that means it will terminate before it reaches Newark Bus Station.

The No 1 service from Coddington goes through Newark, calling at the bus station, and on to Balderton.

That will change from a week on Monday.

Mrs Jane Hedge, of Lancaster Road, Coddington, said the changes would affect people who needed to be in the town centre or catch a connecting bus.

The service will end at Bargate where she said there was no adequate shelter, or seating for those waiting.

She has called for the decision to be reviewed.

Mr Allan Towler, of Naseby Avenue, Newark, said the changes had not been thought through.

He agreed the No 1 route should be split into two services, but said the Coddington bus should terminate at the bus station and a separate service be provided to Balderton.

He said: “This gives the minimum disruption to passengers and drivers, frees up the bus stops for parking and stops complaints from Balderton-side residents that their service is late because of what happens on the Coddington side, and vice versa.”

The Rev Christine Eagger, of Lancaster Road, Coddington, said she understood the changes were being made as buses were running late because of the traffic control system outside Asda.

She said people in Coddington and Beacon Hill should not be deprived of a service to the other end of town.

The operations manager for Nottinghamshire County Council’s transport and travel services, Mr Chris Ward, said they and operators Stagecoach discussed a number of options to try to reinstate the service to the bus station.

He said they had been unable to come up with a solution that did not either reduce the frequency or the reliability of the Coddington service.

He said Stagecoach had therefore made the commercial decision to register a change to the service, which would mean its termination on Bargate.

He said: “Boarding and alighting figures from Stagecoach highlight that most people get on and off the bus at Bargate so hopefully this change will not inconvenience too many customers.”

He said the council would monitor the situation.