Daughter of Chichester woman blasts 'cruel and pointless' bus route changes
The daughter of an elderly Chichester woman says changes to the city’s 52 and 53 services have had a disproportionate impact on elderly residents.
The woman, who asked not to be named, said her 92-year-old mother uses the East Wittering to Chichester service regularly in order to shop, but, following changes authorised by provider Stagecoach last year, neither service stops at Chichester Cathedral or the bus station itself.
For elderly passengers or people with mobility issues this can make accessing Chichester’s attractive range of shops incredibly difficult. The complainant said her mother has to get off at the stop opposite Chichester Station and walk up South Street in order to access the shops she uses in the rest of the city, or walk around to the bus depot and wait for another bus to the Cathedral.
"The Witterings is a popular retirement area, with a significant percentage of aging full-time inhabitants, many of whom do not drive because of age and/or ill-health,” she said. “These buses are a lifeline for those still living either completely or semi-independent lives but who are still able and willing to go shopping.”
"We understand this change does come at some inconvenience to customers, for which we apologise,” a Stagecoach spokesperson said. “We're doing our best to provide a service which is both punctual and financially viable, which is unfortunately a very difficult challenge on the highly congested road network around Chichester.
"We made this decision to try and reduce delays at traffic lights around the two railway crossings. In 2024 we added an extra bus to the 52/53 in an attempt to improve our punctuality. However, the extra 25 per cent cost of the new timetable was met by very few extra passengers travelling, whilst delays at traffic lights and crossings continued. That resulted in a significant direct hit to the financial performance of the route (which operates commercially, without subsidy) and left it at risk of being unviable in the longer term. Terminating the service at the bus station means buses no longer queue at traffic lights by the County Court. It also means the service reverts to a more manageable and sustainable operating cost."