Dear Editor,

Having read through the Stagecoach route changes for Andover, two items stand out. It would seem that Stagecoach is working against [borough council leader] Phil North and the Andover Bid, both of whom, we are told, are striving to make Andover the "go-to" town.

Now while I would agree that any improvements to service levels are a good thing, it would seem that Stagecoach is in fact making it easier for Andover residents to shop elsewhere by providing more buses to Basingstoke, Salisbury and Winchester. 

One could argue of course that we are short of some well-known high street names, but if you are in dire need of a haircut or a coffee we are pretty well served.

READ MORE: Residents upset after major bus route changes in Andover

Stand out item No. 2 is the fact that Admirals Way, Pilgrims Way, Highlands Road (and presumably Sheep Fair) will no longer be served (unfortunately is the word used). The phrase 'Tough ...' springs to mind but not to worry there is light at the end of the tunnel. All of those residents who have been deprived of bus service will remain within a short walk of one of their shiny new bus routes.

Would the person who devised this master plan please define a 'short' walk? If you are fit, a short walk might be half-a-mile, but for an elderly resident living at the furthest points of the deprived areas with crippling knee or hip pain, 20 metres is a very long walk.

I  see no reason why Highlands Road could not be served by the new No 3 route. Making alternate circuits on the outward and inward journeys likewise Pilgrims Way by the No 4 route using River Way on the outward journey and Pilgrims Way on the inward or vice versa, Admirals Way is the easiest to serve. Using the No. 2 route, it could make an anticlockwise circuit on the outward journey and clockwise on the inward journey. 

SEE ALSO: Stagecoach introduces new buses for Andover residents

In any case, do we really need three buses an hour? Surely, two would do the trick. After all, when we have been used to one bus an hour that is still a vast improvement or are these three areas being sacrificed in order to achieve three buses an hour to the East Anton ?   

Finally, thank you Stagecoach for providing us with what now amounts to a "day out" on the bus. If we want to go to Basingstoke we are now left with a 'short' walk to the Walworth or a bus ride to town to get the No. 76, then of course we have the return journey to look forward to.

Ron Eason
Admirals Way

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