'Forgotten about' residents petition against new bus route changes in Windsor

Residents near Windsor Great Park have been ‘forgotten about’ following changes to their bus route – prompting more than one hundred signatures in a council petition.

Route 01 ran between Heatherwood Hospital and Windsor via Ascot, Sunninghill, Sunningdale and Windsor Great Park but was renumbered to the 1 and 1A with a new timetable on April 6.

Queen Anne's Gate bus stop on the A332 King’s Road now operates a reduced service after Thames Valley Buses took over the route from White Buses.

The route has also been extended to Dedworth, and existing bus users believe the 75-year-old route now caters to those residents, despite them having access to two alternative buses.

“It seems with the reorganisation, that particular part of the route – Queen’s Gate flats – has been missed,” said Roy Reeves, who launched an online council petition on April 8.

“There are a lot of people there who used it regularly who have been forgotten about or ignored, and they just didn’t know about it until it happened,” added the 81-year-old.

“It’s all a bit of a shock.”

The Queen Anne's Gate bus stop predominantly serves retired Crown Estate employees who reside at Queen’s Gate Cottages.

Roy described the timetable at the Queen Anne's Gate bus stop as having a ‘hole in the middle’.

Alternatives include school bus routes, a ‘much longer’ route through Old Windsor or a half-mile walk to the next bus stop near Bolton Road.

Under the new timetable, morning users arriving in Windsor after 10.30am will have to stay in the town for nearly three hours before the return bus.

Furthermore, the Queen Anne's Gate bus stop is not served on Saturdays.

“It’s quite a long way for pensioners to walk in all weathers, and they don’t have the stamina to do it,” said Roy.

Katie Young regularly used the old 01 service and arranged a sister paper petition with more than 125 signatures in a fortnight.

“Everyone down here is elderly, apart from me, and I've got a disability, so I can't walk that far,” said the 53-year-old.

“I’ve hardly been out – a lot of the neighbours have had to get taxis, which isn’t very cost-effective.

“I don’t buy that much when I go out, but I’m not going to pay £8 for a taxi to go and get a bit of broccoli when I run out or spend three hours sitting around.

“My neighbour said, ‘there's no one at the bus stop, I don't get to talk to anyone because we all used to meet at the bus stop at 9.40am, have a good chat and go into town’.”

Katie said the new timetable has impacted medical appointments and social lives, reducing spontaneity and increasing isolation.

“There are like three buses a day to get back from Windsor,” she said.

“You've got to have a plan. If you're buying frozen stuff, you have to wait in coffee shops.

“I understand that sometimes the buses are empty, so they might need to cut the service, but cutting the service and adding an extra 45 minutes to go around Dedworth is just ridiculous.”

Katie has rheumatoid arthritis and says there is no ‘actual bus stop’ in place at the alternative spot for Saturday services.

“There’ll be nowhere to sit once you've walked down there, and it’s completely inconsiderate,” she added.

Katie said 01 bus users were unaware of any council consultation on the changes.

Thames Valley Buses responded to a tender opportunity issued by RBWM council, detailing the minimum level of service and route required by the local authority following a bus network consultation undertaken last year, they said.

Although successful in its bid for route 1, all operators were instructed to tender to the same specification.

“Whilst our Routes 2 and 16 are operated commercially, Route 1 is designed to cover areas, including parts of Dedworth, which would not otherwise be served without local authority financial support,” said a spokesperson.

“We are aware of some local concerns about service frequencies, and if RBWM felt that they wished to make some changes to the timings or route of any of the procured services to benefit residents across the Borough, we would be happy to engage with them to find an optimum solution.”

A council spokesperson said most bus routes in the Royal Borough are run commercially and independently of the council

“Changes aimed at improving borough bus routes, based on consultation feedback, were implemented when bus routes went to competitive tender,” a spokesperson added.

“The new cross-borough service aims to benefit residents while providing value for money. We're aware of conflicting views regarding some of these changes, which we are considering.”