A ‘GHOST’ bus route is being restored to residents of a village near Pershore after an absence of almost 10 years.
The route – a long service road serving housing and a public house on the edge of the village of Stoulton – was abandoned by regular bus services following cutbacks and the speeding up of the remaining First Midland Red X50 Worcester-Pershore-Evesham service.
Timetable changes now mean local residents will have an hourly bus service to and from Worcester and Pershore and will no longer have to walk nearly half a mile up to the main road to the nearest bus stop – a move which has been welcomed by campaigners from the Vale Public Transport Group.
“We have long been campaigning for better prominence and safety for bus stops and to boost usage by bringing the stops nearer to the people the buses serve,” said Julian Palfrey, chairman of the Vale Public Transport Group (VPTG)
“We are now seeking to relocate the Worcester bus stop on the main road at Drakes Broughton currently near a blind bend with heavy fast moving traffic, making it extremely difficult to cross the road in safety, particularly for the elderly and less mobile.”
The Vale group has proposed moving the stop approximately 100 yards in the Worcester direction where it would be close to the new pedestrian crossing and better serve all the new housing on the main road.
Relocating the stop and shelter there would also be much nearer to local amenities such as the village school, the church and the village hall.
