South Tyneside residents launch petition to urge Stagecoach to rethink number 12 bus service changes
South Tyneside residents are calling on Stagecoach to reverse changes to the number 12 bus service.
A group of residents met in Marsden on Thursday, May 29, to share the negative impact that changes to the number 12 bus service is having on the local community.
The number 12 was changed from a half-hourly to hourly service last month by Stagecoach, with service users highlighting that it has had an impact of residents on The Lonnen and the surrounding streets stranded and isolated.
At the meeting in Marsden, residents flagged that The Lonnen is one of the highest residential streets in South Shields and has a large number of elderly residents.
Some reported that the number 12 hasn’t shown up on time following the changes, which has resulted in them having to walk home - with one man starting that he had injured his arm after falling when he was struggling with his shopping.
A spokesperson from the meeting said: “We know that these changes were not reported to South Tyneside Council either, nor did Stagecoach follow any engagement or consultation about these changes and how it would impact people.
“In line with the Code of Conduct- these changes should have been communicated 18 weeks prior to them taking place.
“We have been told that all of the budget for tendering services and secured services has already been allocated, meaning it cannot be used to keep the additional 12 service in operation.
“We fundamentally disagree that this is acceptable. We refuse to leave residents left isolated, their physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing neglected.”
The resident’s petition is calling on Stagecoach to temporarily reinstate the number 12 service to its original operating time and follow the 18-week consultation process.
And then if it is deemed that the number 12 is “untenable”, residents are calling on Stagecoach to consider rerouting other services, with input from residents, to The Lonnen and Watson Avenue.
In a letter to the meeting, Steve Walker, the Managing Director of Stagecoach North East, flagged that the changes to the number 12 come at a time when the company is making decisions across the UK following the increase in National Insurance for employers, and above average pressures on wage rises.
He also stated that passenger numbers on buses across South Tyneside are continuing to “lag some way short of pre-pandemic levels, and this has impacted the financial performance of the wider business”.
You can view the petition by visiting: https://www.change.org/p/reinstate-lifeline-bus-route-number-12.
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