BUS passengers in Winchester have been left angry and distraught at cancelled and delayed services.

Winchester City Council members were disappointed after Stagecoach failed to appear at a meeting to discuss the ongoing problems plaguing the city’s services.

At the Winchester Town Forum, on Monday, March 11, councillors reported that residents in The Worthys had complained about the no-notice cancellation of services.

Chair of the forum, Councillor Mark Reach, said: “We’ve invited Stagecoach a couple of times to come along. It’s a bit disappointing that they haven’t come again. I will try to get them to come. 

“The point is, to have an open and collaborative conversation with Stagecoach to understand the issues they face operating a service in a congested city such as ours.”

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Cllr Reach said he was stopped by two residents on Monday because the ‘number 4 was withdrawn from Highcliffe for a week with no prior warning, notification or advertisement.

Cllr Steve Cramoysan, from The Worthys ward, said: "The Spring bus which is the primary bus that serves Kings Worthy has been noticeably unreliable with more cancellations than are comfortable for people to tolerate.”

A Stagecoach spokesperson said the service was diverted due to a planned closure for roadworks on Petersfield Road between March 11 and 13 and apologised to customers for any inconvenience caused.

Cllr Cramoysan said he had a very promising meeting with Stagecoach in November and was waiting to hear back from their ‘punctuality meeting’ but all communication has stopped.

He said people who have moved to The Worthys expected a bus service, with a lot of elderly residents depending on them to get around.

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Cllr Cramoysan highlighted that the area lacks amenities like shops and a doctors’ surgery so a bus is particularly important.

Cllr Kelsie Learney said she came in on the bus and it was delayed but it is the cancellations that people find most difficult.

She said: “We need to look and see how we can make the buses more reliable. But congestion is the biggest problem.”

After the meeting, Cllr Cramoysan said: “There are only two buses per hour on the Spring service so if one gets cancelled you have to wait a while for the next one. Whereas on the number 5 bus runs five times an hour. The number 4 in Highcliffe has been cancelled for a week when there are only three days of road works.”

The next Winchester Town Forum will be in June.