Barnsley pensioners protest over axed bus services

Pensioners staged a protest at Barnsley Interchange

Pensioners in South Yorkshire have held a demonstration calling for cancelled bus services to be reinstated.

Residents met at Barnsley Interchange on Wednesday over Stagecoach's decision to axe the 43 and 44 services.

Mayor Oliver Coppard, who was at the protest, said public transport in the region was "broken", while a resident said he had been left "more isolated".

A Stagecoach spokesperson said the services were too costly to run due to falling passenger numbers.

Eric Walton, who lives on Broadway in Kingstone, said: "I've got to get a taxi to hospital, because I'm being treated for skin cancer."

He added he used to tend to his allotment on Park Road two miles away every day - but that was now impossible.

South Yorkshire Mayor Mr Coppard told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the transport issue needed to be "fixed".

He said: "The problem that we face is that we're not given enough money by the government to fix buses in South Yorkshire in the way that I would like, that clearly the community want us to do."

Mr Coppard said the bus companies "call the shots" and "decide where buses go, how much to charge and what the timetable looks like".

Local councillor Chris Wray said that residents in the areas of Dodworth, Pogmoor, Gawber and New Lodge were struggling to attend medical appointments at Woodland Drive Medical Centre, which was "completely wrong".

Residents demonstrated over Stagecoach's decision to cancel the 43 and 44 services

A spokesperson for Stagecoach said the number of passengers using the 43/44 route had fallen by 21% over the last few years - and the firm was no longer meeting its running costs.

The spokesperson added: "Most passengers who live off Broadway are within 400 metres of an alternative bus stop with a frequent bus service.

"For anyone unable to walk the short distance, other alternatives such as Door 2 Door community transport are available to use."