A COUNCILLOR has appealed to Stagecoach to re-route one of its buses after receiving numerous complaints about the changes to timetables.

Coun Steve Sylvester said the phones had not stopped ringing after the 227 service was scrapped last month.

He said: “I have written to Stagecoach and suggested that they could re-route the number 66 bus which runs every 10 minutes.

“I think that provides an excellent service but once an hour they could divert it so it goes up past Kirk Balk.”

He said that the problems would be discussed at a transport committee meeting of the council on June 18.

He said: “We are especially concerned because it is predominantly elderly people that live in the affected area.”

Salvation Army divisional envoy Barbara Sabin has also written to South Yorkshire Transport with similar misgivings.

She said: “I am concerned for the number of people that used that service. There is a 90 year-old lady up there that can’t carry a bag of shopping up the road.

“There are six buses an hour on the 66 route. Why can’t they divert one of those so that the service is at least once an hour?”

But Stagecoach said that re-routing the number 66 service would not be practical.

A spokesman said: “Unfortunately, we have to cater for the majority of passengers. Service 66 is an excellent service and introducing a diversion once an hour would affect the 'turn up and go' attractiveness of the whole service.”

Mount Crescent resident Elaine Hirst was not happy with the response.

She said: “I think it is diabolical. If I had it my way we would all boycott the buses.”