AN OKEHAMPTON man whose daughter has just begun work has added his voice to the chorus of disapproval at the timetable changes to the bus service to and from Exeter. Richard Evans? daughter Claire starting working in a hair salon in Exeter?s fashionable Gandy Street last week, but it is the cuts in services she is concerned about. Claire has to work late twice a week, meaning she cannot catch the last bus back from Exeter to Okehampton which leaves the city at 5.45pm. The changes in timetable, which came into force this Monday, were heavily criticised by passengers in last week?s Times. Richard said: ?I am very annoyed. Twice a week I have to trundle off to Exeter. ?After doing a day?s work in my own job for ten hours, the last thing I want to do is to rush back and head off to Exeter, but obviously it has to be done. ?Whether the route is making a huge profit or a slight loss, I feel it is still a service that should be there for everybody.? Richard urged those who were unhappy with the new timetable to write to the bus operators Stagecoach and First to express their dissatisfaction. He said: ?I spoke to Stagecoach in Exeter and they said to me, that if demand was shown to be high enough through people writing in by letter, they might review the situation.? He urged anyone who felt unhappy about the changes to write to First and to Stagecoach Devon Ltd. Richard said his daughter had just left school and this was her first job. At just 16 years old, she is too young to drive and relies on public transport. He said he also used the bus himself quite often. ?It was a good service,? Richard said. ?If I was going into Exeter, I was tending to leave the car at home and catch the bus more often. I would never have dreamed of that before, but the service was good.? First Devon and Cornwall took the decision to stop operating the X10 and X11 service buses and Stagecoach Devon have taken over these routes. First's X9 service is continuing but with a revised timetable. Both companies say their timetables are drawn up by studying which journeys are undertaken the most and at what times.
