Bus users in Buckshaw Village launch petition after changes to 109a route

Residents in Buckshaw Village have started a petition following changes to the number 109a bus route.
Stagecoach busStagecoach bus
Stagecoach bus

The new route, which started on September 3, serves Buckshaw Avenue instead of Old Worden Avenue and has dropped to an hourly service, instead of every 30 minutes.

Residents who use the Stagecoach service have now launched a Public Against Transport Services online petition to ‘reinstate bus services around Chorley to help people stay in work and able to get home at a decent time.’

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Writing to Stagecoach on Facebook Dot Ramsden Seaton, who launched the petition, said: “The worse you make the service the less likely people are to use it or perhaps that is what you want.

“I can understand you changing it to an hourly service but surely most people finish work either five or six o’clock and you put the last one before the time change at 4.50pm when most people are going to want to get home after a hard days work they now have to wait almost an hour before they can get a bus or pay on two buses.

“It’s an absolute joke what you call a service. I live six mins away in a car to where I work but it takes 58 minutes on your service and two buses with double the fare.

“What used to cost me £10 a weekly rider now costs £4 a day.”

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Bridget Murphy, who also lives in Buckshaw said: “It’s main route, avoiding Old Worden Avenue and using Buckshaw Avenue instead, will serve the needs of people working in the warehouses rather than residents.”

Changes also mean that the 109a will no longer operate to and from Preston.

A spokesman for Stagecoach said: “As a responsible provider, we are focused on ensuring the long-term viability of services across the region. In order to safeguard and secure the future of bus services across Lancashire, we are committed to running sustainable effective services, or risk them declining over time.

“Following extensive consultation with our passengers, we have introduced some changes to our 109A route. We do appreciate that alongside the improvements which this will deliver, these changes do create compromises for some residents. We are strongly committed to delivering a great service for all our passengers and will keep the services under close review for the next few months. If there are any further realistic ways in which we can incorporate customer feedback in the future, then we will.”

Meanwhile Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle has written to Stagecoach to request a meeting to discuss the cuts to the service.