A group of Hereford residents has submitted a petition of 116 signatures to Herefordshire Council calling for a bus service which they used to rely on to be reinstated.

Sheila Taylor, 79, who organised the petition, said that until spring of last year the 71A, operated by Yeomans Travel, served Wordsworth Road, Westfaling Street and White Horse Street hourly on its journey between Credenhill and the city centre.

She said she had been told by the operator that bus drivers had objected to using White Horse Street in particular due to access issues.

Now, apart from a digression down Wordsworth Street used by some buses, the service now sticks to the main A438 Whitecross Road instead, already served by numerous services, she explained.

“For those of us who are elderly, disabled or poor, we have to pay for taxis, ask for lifts, or go without,” she said, adding that services could avoid White Horse Street by continuing instead along Breinton Road and Barton Road towards the city centre.

“We aren’t asking for 20 buses a day – two would be nice,” she said.

Fellow petitioner Jenny Williams added: “The service wasn’t just used by just residents – there’s the cemetery, crematorium and medical centre on Westfaling Street that people also need to visit.”

Over the past year Mrs Taylor has written to the council’s transport department, to Yeomans, to ward councillor Diana Toynbee and to local MP Jesse Norman, and made follow-up calls to each.

Coun Toynbee replied in March: “Having spoken with the bus company I do understand their reasoning. But I will keep pushing for better bus services for west Hereford, in particular along Westfaling Street.”

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Yeomans schedules manager Allan Field said: “The 71A was rerouted due to the cars and vans parked tightly along White Horse Street, which meant our drivers couldn’t get through without risking knocking off wing mirrors.”

The service’s previous operator, First, “had the same problem”, he added. “Parking restrictions have been suggested, but it's a residential area.”

Mrs Taylor’s proposed alternative route would also face problems of narrow roads, as well as long queues on Barton Road, Mr Field said.

The petition was addressed to the council’s transport chief Coun John Harrington, who last month said bus travel “is often better for your physical and mental wellbeing, reduces congestion and wear and tear on the road network, and is better for the environment”.

The city bus map on the council’s website still shows the 71A running along Westfaling Street and White Horse Street.

A council spokesperson said: “The 71A is a commercial bus service and is not commissioned, operated, or funded by Herefordshire Council.”