Passengers who organised a 116-name petition to bring back a local bus service in Hereford have finally got their wish.
But the new operator of the service has told them they will have to use it, or lose it.
Sheila Taylor, who organised the petition last October, said: “I have kept pushing for the 71A to be brought back.
“People still stop me about it – we are a mostly elderly community, so many round here need it.”
Natalie Amos, transport manager at Kington-based bus operator Sargeant Brothers, said: “We have listened to the public on this and decided to put on this service ourselves.”
The “E Route” service will largely follow the old 71A route between Moor Farm Lane, Hereford Cemetery on Westfaling Street, White Horse Street and the bus station by the Tesco supermarket.
Services will run hourly six days a week excluding Sundays, from 8am to 6pm.
“Herefordshire Council have given it their blessing, but we’re still waiting for the (West Midlands) Traffic Commissioner to sign it off,” Ms Amos said.
However, the service will be run as an unsupported, commercial service.
“It’s a gamble for us – if people don’t use it then we would have to reconsider it, or divert it, in a few months,” she said.
“If you look at our A route in Tupsley that we put in last June, we didn’t think it would break even for 18 months, but it has taken off.”
The bus used on the E route will be a new British-made Optare Solo, “at least at first”, Ms Amos added.
On the question of access down the area’s narrow streets, which had been an issue with previous services, she did not foresee a problem.
“We have done trials and have managed even to get past road works,” she said.
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