A MAN has described the difficulty he and other pensioners have faced since controversial bus route changes.

Various bus routes across Wrexham county were either changed or axed completely at the end of March by operator Arriva for 'commercial reasons'.

This has meant those reliant on those services having to adapt to the changes or cope without.

One of the hardest hit areas is Hightown where there is a large elderly community residing in Stockwell Grove.

At the end of last week they lost the number 42 to the town centre, and pensioner Peter Francis, 72, says the impact is already starting to be felt on their day to day life.

Their nearest bus route to take them to the town centre is more than a 10 minute walk away, from Stockwell Grove to the Traveller's Rest on Kingsmills Road.

Mr Francis said: "On Monday I had to carry my shopping home, walking all the way from Kingsmills Road to Stockwell Grove, which is hard work, while a friend of mine can't walk to Kingsmills Road.

"On Tuesday, another of my friends just missed the bus and had more than an hour's wait for the next one while I myself got caught in the freezing cold hail and rain we had.

"Today (Thursday) I've got some things to sort out at the Post Office so have taken decided to take a taxi.

"If this is the start of things then it doesn't bode very well for the future.

"People will say it's summer soon and the weather will be better but you don't know what sort of weather we'll get and we'll still have to cope next winter."

Mr Francis added that a petition to try and reinstate the Number 42 service had been well-received in Hightown, which can be found in the shop on Norman Road.

Shortly before the changes came into force, Wrexham Council's lead member for environment and transport, Cllr David A Bithell pleaded with Arriva to reconsider.

He said: "For many people, that would be the equivalent of completely cutting them off from bus travel, meaning they could no longer rely on the transport links they need in order to maintain their independence and day-to-day lives.”

“While I understand these are commercial decisions of Arriva they also have to consider the impact that these planned changes will have on many of our communities.

“Even if the reductions resulted in a skeleton or reduced service this would still provide links for those people who rely on them.”

But despite the pleas, Arriva have stood firm behind their decision, Michael Morton, managing director stating: “Services that are being adjusted are not commercially viable and are being modified or withdrawn in order to protect the rest of the Wrexham bus network.

“It is unfortunate that, in recent years, local authority funding for socially necessary bus routes has been cut to the point that Wrexham Council is finding it difficult to provide payments for services that do not make money, leaving it to the commercial bus operators to do their best.

“In recent times, some operators have tried to gain work and volume by running services, either commercially or under contract to local authorities that have, clearly, been below cost and this is the only reason why there are fewer operators than before.

“Free market competition is part of the bus industry in which we find ourselves, as it is in most other industries and those who run efficiently and commercially will always survive.

“Other models, where competition is not the norm, inevitably cost much more as they are publicly funded, whereas more than 90 per cent of an, undoubtedly, excellent network in Wrexham, is commercially provided at no cost to the ratepayer.

“Bus fares in Wrexham have been reduced in recent years especially for regular customers and we have frozen the cost of whole day and weekly tickets for at least the first three months of this year.

“We welcome our regular meetings with Cllr Bithell and Wrexham Council officers and we will continue to work with them to look for better ways of operation, including the possibility of high tech demand responsive minibus services.”