Major Black Country bus service may see route cut at end of year
A Black Country bus service could be set to have its route cut at the end of the year.
The X10 bus service currently runs from Gornal Wood to Birmingham Colmore Row, with some of the stops being Pensnett Trading Estate and Russells Hall Hospital along the route.
However, residents say they have been told by drivers of the bus that the service will cease serving Russells Hall Hospital, Pensnett Trading Estate and Gornal Wood, and instead start at Merry Hill rather than Gornal Wood.
Residents have expressed disappointment as it affects their potential travel to Russells Hall Hospital from Gornal.
The Express & Star approached National Express for a statement, and they did not confirm nor deny the changes.
A spokesperson said: "In common with bus operators nationwide, we are experiencing a shortage of drivers, changes to the school day and lifestyles and fewer passengers; so we are currently reviewing our network.
"We will let the public know as soon as we are able to confirm the exact details of any changes."
The cuts to services would have an impact on both children getting to and from school and elderly people who rely on buses as their primary form of transport.
Brockmoor and Pensnett councillor Rebbekah Collins has described any potential cut to the service as a "shambles".
She said: "It would be an absolute travesty if the changes were to happen, my son used that bus to get to school.
"But not just from a school point of view, we already have a limited bus service running for Pensnett which doesn't meet people's needs.
"We have people who can't get transport to their local doctors, I would describe it as a shambles."
Councillor Collins believes potential cuts to the service would be a disservice to her constituents and plans to try and ensure changes aren't made.
"What we are doing is as councillors is sending a letter to National Express to seriously reconsider because we are not meeting basic travel needs," she added.
"People like me rely on it, I have an eye problem which means I can't drive and have a bus pass, but it isn't going to be able to get me where I need to go to."
