Stagecoach says timetable changes begin in April - as bus users complain about being stranded
Today we're hearing from bus passengers as figures show passenger numbers in Devon are growing at the fastest rate of anywhere in England
Stagecoach says it hopes new timetables - starting next month - will help alleviate concerns as hundreds of people sign a petition calling for changes and Newton Abbot Town Council vows to fight for 'fed up residents' over 'delays and cancelled services'.
It follows a public meeting last month where Stagecoach MD Peter Knight warned the biggest problem facing his business was ‘uncoordinated roadworks’ and ‘performance of the highway network’, adding 'it wasn’t always possible to guarantee the timetable'.
After the meeting, regular bus user and town councillor Mike Ryan said the 77 experienced delays of up to 90 minutes and, on occasions, never arrived at all.
He told Greatest Hits Radio: "I've been waiting at a bus stop and they don't turn up. The last two meetings I've had at full council I catch the 6pm bus into Newton Abbot and it's not turned up.
"I've gone over to the bus station where people are sat there waiting and they've said 'I've been waiting for the last hour’ and it's supposed to be every half hour."
He added: "I walked past the railway station once and there was some young girl, baby and a pram, waiting for a bus and I went and told her there's not one in service as I was waiting earlier - and it just didn't turn up."
Former councillor Mike Hocking, now a freeman, said he and his partner had given up on the 77A on occasions and been forced to take taxis instead.
During the meeting, Mr Knight acknowledged the problems and said the best way to tackle them was to let his firm know ‘as close to real time as possible’.
It comes as last week we reported on how changes had left people in Dawlish paying more to get to Exeter than passengers from villages further away.
County Councillor Rosie Dawson, who has joined the campaign along with hundreds of others calling for changes, said: "We've also asked if we could start documenting how many people get left behind at bus stops when they're sending single-deckers and buses are missing - we then have people who are refused entry onto the bus because it's not safe to take it over capacity, and there's no way for bus drivers to be documenting that.
"I think you can't say that routes are unsustainable and there isn’t demand if you are not producing or collecting that data to work on those routes, and looking at what improvements you can make for people.”
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio Mr Knight said: "It is challenging (running a network) and we take account of a lot of data that we crunch and ensure that timetables remain fit for purpose. The performance of the highway and congestion and variable levels of congestion are our biggest challenges.
"We're currently reviewing all of the data to ensure that we can offer a punctual and reliable service and we've got some service changes that come in on the April 5."
When asked about 'leaving passengers stranded', he said: "We base our assumptions and our changes on observed levels of patronage. We look at everything that we've got and make decision on where to allocate the fleet according to that data.
"We have really good open channels of communication with our driving team and we are aware where there are limited examples of people not being able to board."
The boss also added: "patronage is growing in Devon. Last year the DfT published its latest patronage figures and bus patronage in Devon is growing at the fastest rate of anywhere in England."