Letter: Astonishment and disappointment as bus services axed

Imagine my astonishment, not to mention disappointment, when I discovered this ‘improvement’ meant our local bus services in Teg Down were to be reduced from seven a day to just two. This looks seriously like a misdescription under trade descriptions or advertising legislation!

The Teg Down estate has a high proportion of older people who have lived here for many years, and the current number 4 bus service runs via the doctor’s surgery and the hospital, sadly, an increasing need. Others of all ages use the bus to help with carrying heavy shopping up the hill from the local shops.

What do Stagecoach and our local councillors think we are meant to do instead? I thought they were trying to reduce, not increase, traffic congestion in Winchester by discouraging journeys by car?  Do they think we all have the means to pay for taxis when we need to go to hospital or shopping during a cost of living crisis? Being able to socialise is essential to maintaining good health too – or are we expected to stay at home and fade away? We feel we have been abandoned, and the huge reduction of this service discriminates disproportionately against older people. How long before they remove even those two services with some paltry excuse?

Andy Smith,

Teg Down Meads.

Winchester

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