Residents learnt from notices attached to bus stops, that the highly valued No. 4 bus service linking the Winchester districts of Teg Down, Fulflood and Highliffe to the city centre was being summarily discontinued at the end of August.
The route is particularly appreciated by the elderly and those with mobility issues. The notice suggested alternative bus routes which could be used. For many, access to the alternatives are a considerable distance away, with substantial climbs or descents, which for some are not physically possible to negotiate. It is mainly the elderly and disabled and young mothers who are disadvantaged by this route withdrawal – ‘So that’s all right, isn’t it?’.
Public services and decent care provision in an unending age of austerity have become inadequate, with no prospect of improvement – ‘Still, it doesn’t matter, does it?’
What’s happened to the government policy of an integrated transport system linking hospitals, doctors’ surgeries bus and rail stations to the areas people live in? Of course, some residents are fortunate on the now closed route having the financial means to use taxis or their own cars, adding to congestion and pollution for you to inhale in the city centre – ‘So that’s all right, then?’.
Yes, we will protest at the closure, confer with our neighbours and sign petitions, contact our elected representatives both local and national, engage with the bus company and the media, and sadly probably nothing will change – ‘ So that’s all right then, is it?’
Chris O’Neill
Chair, Hampshire Unison Retired Members Section,
Winchester
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