Once again we have a situation, whereby National Express, think they know better than many local residents and Councillors.
For the past few weeks, instead of terminating the 76 bus service at the top of Allens Croft Road, as they should, they have been turning into Colmore Road, Kings Heath, to the annoyance of most residents. One of the organisers contacted me after this unsavoury practice started to happen, I suggested that she and others came along to a Neighbourhood Tasking meeting and aired their views. Well a good number did come along and voiced their opinion and if a senior manager of National Express had been there, then they wouldn't have got out alive.
To simply rail-road through a new route, without consulting residents or elected Councillors is asking for trouble. The number of emails going back and forward to the Acocks Green garage on this matter is incredible and time after time promises have been broken. I accept that if there is an emergency, a traffic accident in kings Heath, or a road closure nearby, then buses can and should use whatever roads are open to them to provide a good public service. However what they have been doing is unacceptable, so over the past few days residents have been strategically parking cars again, as a means to stopping buses using this very residential road. This gorilla action has been so successful that National Express have started using Grove Road & Tenbury Road as a short-cut and again some residents in Tenbury Road are up in arms and who can blame them.
SOONER or LATER National Express will get the message that they can't bully their way in to route changes like they are trying to do with residents in Kings Heath. Until that day comes, I will continue to support residents actions, so long as no lives are put at risk by stupidly parking cars
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