MEMBERS of the Tavistock community campaigning for their direct bus route from the town to Plymouth Railway Station to be restored will have their opportunity to grill bus company bosses over the decision next week.

The scrapping of the direct bus link to the station used by hundreds of people each year to connect them with rail services out of the county has caused outrage in the community and been the subject of an online petition which has already gained more than 1,490 signatures.

Following local concern, Stagecoach South West is offering an opportunity for members of the public to have their say on bus services next Monday (October 2) in Bedford Square.

The bus company announced the changes as part of the first significant revamp of the operator’s services since it took over a number of routes from First Devon and Cornwall in September 2015.

Central to the changes was maximising the new bus infrastructure in and around Derriford Hospital which will allow Stagecoach to run all 1, 100 and 101 bus services via the hospital.

Customers travelling from Tavistock who wish to access Plymouth Railway Station will have two options — to either walk to/from Mayflower Street in the city centre or change onto the 100/101 at Derriford Hospital — both of which have left passengers in the Tavistock area unhappy.

West Devon borough councillor For Tavistock South West Graham Parker is a regular bus user and has been working with the organisers of the petition, Muriel Allan and Dr Marion Nash. He has also been soliciting the support of local MPs and councillors.

He said: ‘Like the decision to cut the number of the Tavistock 89 bus services, this dreadful decision was taken without consultation with passengers, local councillors or local business. It seems to be more in the interests of the operator rather than the travelling public and simply isolates Tavistock even further.

‘The explanation given by Stagecoach is that people were confused by the fact that the X1 ran to the railway station but the number 1 didn’t. That is laughable. Tavistock folk are perfectly capable of reading a timetable and no-one at all was confused about this in the past.

‘Stagecoach also seems to have forgotten one of the basic rules of public transport. If you make it difficult to use — for example, by forcing people to change buses or to walk long distances to make their journey — then they will stop using your buses.’

Petition organisers Muriel and Marion said they were asking for justice: ‘Until September 3 the bus (XI) went every 30 minutes from Tavistock to Plymouth city centre via Tavistock Road, Central Park, Argyle FC and the train station,’ they said. ‘The new route now misses out all of these stops and goes with several other buses via the hospital and Mutley Plain and takes longer.

‘This re-routing of the service has left a large section of the community, who used the XI, stranded and we are asking for its return.

‘Alongside us the people from Tavistock, Grenofen, Horraridge and Yelverton no longer have the direct bus to the Life Centre, supermarkets, Argyle FC and the train station. Many people have been unable to lead their normal lives.’

Devon county and West Devon borough councillor Debo Sellis said she had been contacted by concerned bus users who were affected by the changes and had met with commercial director of Stagecoach?South West Robert? Williams to discuss those concerns.

‘As a result of our conversation Stagecoach has arranged to park a vehicle in the town square on Monday, October 2 between 10am and 2pm to hear customers views,’ she said.

‘Mr Williams and other members of the local management team will be present.

‘Stagecoach hopes that users will be able to visit the bus and for those who cannot, the company realises that this time may not suit everybody and anybody who is unable to attend at that time is welcome to email [email protected]. ’ 

Mr Williams said: ‘I would encourage anyone to come along to meet our team and find out more about our service from Tavistock to Plymouth. Our recent changes have attracted quite a few comments, and we are keen to explore the benefits and opportunities for further changes that may be out there.

‘We are also keen to dispel any myths about services being taken away and to promote how easy it is to use our service to get into Plymouth, as a real alternative to the car.

‘We therefore decided it would be helpful to make ourselves available for questions and to provide people with an opportunity to have their say.

‘Our customers are our priority and we want to make sure that they know how to get in touch.’To read and sign the petition, visit http://bit.ly/2yvegGF