HUNRDEDS of residents have backed a campaign against a bus company’s decision to re-route a Southampton service.

As reported in the Daily Echo, Bluestar’s number 18 service no longer stops in Kingsway and instead goes straight down New Road towards Asda.

Elderly bus users living near the stop say the change, which came in last month, has left them stranded and businesses in the area are concerned that trade will be hit.

Now around 200 signatures have been added to the petition against the change, and councillors and residents are still gathering support.

Ward councillor John Noon says Bluestar, which used to run the bus past Kingsway several times every hour, should continue to provide some sort of service. He added: “We haven’t given up on it yet – I’d like them to reconsider providing perhaps two buses per hour.

“The reaction of people signing the petition is that they feel St Mary’s and Golden Grove has been neglected by the bus companies and they feel isolated by it.”

The initial petition has been sent to Ed Wills, divisional director for Bluestar – but he says it’s unlikely to cause a U-turn on the decision.

He said: “With just a very small minority using those stops, we believe that the change now benefits the vast majority of our customers by reducing the travelling time to and from the city centre.

“If everyone who signed the petition actually used the bus stops on a frequent basis, we would have been delighted to leave the route as it was.”