My experience of getting the 76 bus.

I got on the bus at the bus station to travel to Western Avenue. While travelling along Northern Avenue, I noticed there were no bus stops to pick anyone up at.

At the end, there is the Church Hill Way bus stop, and Walworth Road, on the corner, has another bus stop. Then it goes into South Way, where there is a bus stop at the top. 

What a long journey just to get onto the road to Whitchurch, Overton, and Basingstoke. We have been given this new transformation to use instead of going straight up London Road, where there are bus stops for people to get on and off.

I do not understand why they changed this. They keep telling us this is quicker - I don't think so. Although they run every half an hour, it still takes an hour to get to Basingstoke. 

Also the Drove bus stops for more than two hours from 1.50pm to provide buses for school runs. They come back on again at 4pm. 

So, bearing this in mind, people going to the hospital have to catch a bus an hour earlier to get to their appointments. 

I asked Stagecoach, the bus company, why we couldn't have the buses put back on that made the journeys around the different estates in the town.

They said that if parishes or town councils could provide £10,000, this would help the situation, and they would be able to support this by putting some buses back on.

I have written to MP Kit Malthouse about this and I am having people contact me that are in their 80s and 90s that are having to walk to different places away from where they live to get on a bus. They are exhausted they say they can't do this anymore. 

I have been trying my hardest to sort this problem out.

Iris Andersen 

St. Mary's Ward councillor for Test Valley Borough Council 

Vigo Road,

Andover 

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