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 Many hundreds of people in the Christchurch area will be left stranded with the loss of the M2 fast and frequent bus service known as More operated by Wilts and Dorset Bus. Add to this the a renumbered X12 service that replaces the 121 and 123 routes in and around Highcliffe, Stanpit, Jumpers and Fairmile. This change will come into affect on May 25th.
The More bus services, M1 and M2 criss cross the Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole conurbation using fast routes which made them very popular along with the frequency of service. But the operators
Wilts and Dorset say a radical revamp of the services was needed to increase frequency for passengers in the Bournemouth / Boscombe area. The change will increase the frequency across the town from 10 mins to 7 minutes. To effect this change with the number of vehicles on the More fleet the operators say that services to Burton and Somerford will be curtailed. The company say that Somerford passengers are well served by Yellow buses starting from Sainsburys terminal in Lyndhurst Road. They added that the new X12 service would follow the most popular routes through Burton and Highcliffe to Bournemouth via the local hospitals at Christchurch (Fairmile) and Royal Victoria in Castle Lane. In fact they state that the X12 will be half hourly to Burton, Mudeford and Highcliffe giving a bus every 15 minutes from Christchurch via the hospitals to Bournemouth. However, Burton parish councillors are concerned that the loss of services and detours will encourage village residents to use their cars more to reach schools, hospitals and shops. Also many disabled and elderly villagers will be isolated by the changes to the services which they have been accustomed to. Council leader, Alan Griffiths has called for a meeting with Wilts and Dorset in a bid to reverse these changes. Also the fact that despite assurances to Burton parish from the bus company that there were no plans to change services they have gone ahead with the service change without even consulting with Christchurch Council or even Dorset County council. Last update : 23-04-2008 09:39
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