Anger over bus services changes
Hayley MaceHundreds of bus passengers have signed petitions to voice their outrage after a north Suffolk operator lost its contract for a popular shopping route.Hayley Mace
Hundreds of bus passengers have signed petitions to voice their outrage after a north Suffolk operator lost its contract for a popular shopping route.
More than 400 people have signed petitions after discovering that Belle Coaches, based in Lowestoft and Leiston, will no longer operate the service which covers many Suffolk villages, Lowestoft and Norwich.
The company has operated the service, known as the 626, for the past five years, but Suffolk County Council has now awarded the contract to Simonds of Botesdale, near Diss.
The current route varies every day to cover villages all over north Suffolk. Belle Coaches will continue running the route until March 26.
You may also want to watch:
Ken Shreeve, managing director at Belle, said: "The council originally pleaded with us to put on this service five years ago and now they are chan-ging to go with a cheaper option."
A Suffolk County Council spokes-man said: "We carried out a thorough and open competitive tender at the end of this five-year contract, as we are obliged to do. We have awarded the contract to the operator that evidenced the best value for the funds available."
Most Read
- 1 Woman's warning after being targeted in Royal Mail scam
- 2 Anger after trees 'cut down without any consent'
- 3 Mum's upset after church clears baby daughter's grave
- 4 Charred remains show aftermath of fire at children's play area
- 5 Covid-19 timeline: How Lowestoft responded to the pandemic
- 6 Which Norfolk Wetherspoons pubs are reopening from April 12?
- 7 First lockdown restrictions lifted today - what can you do now?
- 8 Golf club forced to move tees after dunes collapse
- 9 Investigations continue after drugs seized during raid
- 10 Cooler conditions keep crowds away from east coast
Carl Lummis, operations manager for Simonds, said the capacity for passengers could rise as they planned to use a 65-seater coach. "The route will not be changing and although there will be a slight change in timings, we will still run the same unrivalled service that we run throughout the country," he said.
