An award-winning coach firm has been accused by Birmingham pensioners of restricting the use of their free bus passes after axing its mid-week service between the city and Stratford-upon-Avon.
The bus service, operated by Johnsons Coaches of Henley-in-Arden, Warwickshire, ran between Birmingham and Stratford-upon-Avon about every hour for years and was known as the “Bard Bus” because of the Shakespeare connection with Stratford.
Now the service is operating only between Shirley station and Stratford midweek. However, the service still operates between Birmingham and Stratford on Sundays and on certain Bank Holidays.
The operator says that the different service, which was introduced as an economic measure, is actually picking up new passengers. But pensioners living in Birmingham have complained they have been “robbed” of their regular outings.
The distance between Birmingham and Shirley station is about six miles.
Pensioners Mr and Mrs Drifford said: “We went to Stratford a lot on our bus passes from Birmingham but the only way we can get to Stratford now is to catch a West Midlands Travel bus from Birmingham to Shirley station, nearly six miles away, and then wait for the hourly service to Stratford.
“This is causing too much inconvenience at our age and is a detrimental blow to Birmingham-based passengers. A lot of other pensioners who travelled with us have complained about the situation.
“Stratford is a popular place and Johnsons are restricting the use of our passes. The only other direct way of getting to Stratford now is to catch a train from Birmingham but we can use our bus passes for only a short part of the train journey, which means we have to pay higher train fares.”
