AGE CONCERN this week claimed senior citizens in Okehampton are being offered a third-rate service by bus company First Devon and Cornwall. The Rev Barrie Duke of Age Concern?s Okehampton and Torridge branch has started a petition and urged older people ? and younger people too ? affected by recent bus timetable changes to add their signatures. Mr Duke called on bus operators First to ?get their act together?. He said: ?Service providers need to realise they can?t provide services just when they feel like it.? Mr Duke said older people in particular, many of whom could no longer drive, were reliant on a convenient bus service to and from Exeter. ?It affects so many people whether they are travelling for work or shopping,? he said. Mr Duke decided to launch a petition at the Okehampton Age Concern office after reading in the Times about a recent situation when passengers were turned away from First?s 10am service because the bus was full. He added: ?First may not be aware but these services sometimes manage to connect with train services, that?s why they go direct to St David?s station! If passengers cannot get on the 10am bus then who is going to pay for the missed train journeys?? Mr Duke said copies of the petition were being made available at the Age Concern office in Crediton Road, Okehampton. Under the changes, which came into force four weeks ago, First Devon and Cornwall removed the popular 9.15am Okehampton to Exeter service and altered the timetable for the remaining service. Another operator, Stagecoach Devon, stepped in to register a new service to Exeter via the villages. But service users have been unhappy about the new times, in particular, excluding Fridays and Saturdays, the last bus back to Okehampton from Exeter leaving at 5.45pm. West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox said he had been ?disappointed? by the response he had received from operators so far, after writing to First and Stagecoach about the timetable revisions. However, he said he was seeking face-to-face meetings with the chief executives of the firms to stress how the changes were affecting his constituents. Mr Cox said: ?The companies need to be made aware of the real problems these changes are causing the community. I have received numerous letters from Okehampton and the surrounding region, from people having problems getting to work or getting back from Exeter. I?ll be going into battle for those people at these meetings. ?We need to get a joined up approach. There is seemingly little coordination between the relevant bus companies. We have got to try and promote that.? Earlier this month, Okehampton Town Council agreed to write expressing its concerns to the bus companies. Cllr Sheila Gregory told members that as she worked in Exeter, she was one of those who had been affected by the changes. Cllr Gregory said she had written to Stagecoach, and said she had been somewhat encouraged by their response. ?Stagecoach have said they are looking at reviewing some of the times. It is with their commercial manager at present,? Cllr Gregory said. Town clerk Don Bent said he had received no response so far to the council?s letters. Jessica Lyons, spokesperson for First said: ?We pride ourselves on providing a personal and accessible service and value all input on how best to achieve this. ?However when passenger numbers are very low, we need as a business, to look at ways in which we can continue to serve an area, while still providing a sustainable and quality service. In some cases local authorities may subsidise infrequently used services if there is deemed to be a strong social need.? County councils do not have a statutory role in co-ordinating public transport. The Okehampton to Exeter service was operated on a commercial basis by First Devon and Cornwall, apart from the Devon County supported sections on Friday and Saturday evening and Sundays and Bank Holidays.
