Broadstone to Poole bus is for the chop

Their 10-minute direct Flyer service, Route 3, is being ditched by Wilts & Dorset from June 3, leaving the slower round-the-houses Route 4.

“It will be the Creeper rather than the Flyer,” said resident Alan Beales, 72, a frequent bus user.

Apart from it being faster, another attraction of the number 3 from Wimborne is that its destination in Poole is the Holes Bay side of the railway station, making it convenient for the old town and Asda.

Rebecca Maskell, 22, who takes her little girl to school on the bus said: “It’s quick to come up here if you don’t have to get the number 4 which goes all the way through Poole.”

The number 4 service goes through Oakdale, Creekmoor and Fleetsbridge and can take from 20 minutes to 45 at busy times to arrive at its destination.

Broadstone councillor Mike Brooke, who is fighting the plans, said he feared not just residents but traders would lose out from the withdrawal of the service, which is subsidised at evenings and weekends by Borough of Poole.

He has arranged a special area committee meeting at Broadstone First School tonight at 6pm to discuss the timetable change with officers and Wilts & Dorset and is hoping for a compromise.

“With the changes they have made the whole of Poole is either as good as or better than it was – apart from Broadstone,” he said.

Ed Wills, operations director for Wilts & Dorset said the changes were made following a careful review of the service.

“We are confident that more people will be able to access the new route 4, that will now offer a bus every 15 minutes to Creekmoor, Waterloo Estate and Hillbourne and retain the half-hourly service to both Corfe Mullen or Merley depending on the timetable,” he said.

“One bus stop in Broadstone will experience a reduction in departures from seven to four. On the other hand the approximate 28 bus stops on the route from Poole bus station to Broadstone will benefit from new links to Wimborne and an improved service and frequency.”