A free bus service that takes people from Warsash and Locks Heath to the Hedge End superstores is to be scrapped.
Shoppers at Hedge End heading back to Warsash on the free bus service which is to be scrapped this week
The twice-weekly service, which also runs from Fareham and Titchfield to the Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s stores in Hedge End will finish at the end of this week.
Users of the service – which has been operating for the past 16 years – say they are astonished at the move by the giant retailers because the service is always full of shoppers by the time it reaches the stores.
But it is understood to cost the retailers £50,000 per year and they have said that it is no longer viable – despite those passengers spending money in the two stores.
The opening of a new Marks and Spencer store at Whiteley in May is also thought to be a contributing factor.
Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s have advised shoppers that they could still get to the store on a bus service from Park Gate – but there is no connection for non-driving shoppers who live in Warsash.
A petition against the scrapping of the service has been launched and has gathered more than 60 names so far.
Jill Hamilton-Rump, chairman of the Warsash Residents’ Association, said users had suggested the service could be reduced to once a week or a small charge introduced for its use but so far that had fallen on deaf ears.
“I understand that when it gets to Marks and Spencer it is full so it seems a bit silly of them to stop it,” she said.
A spokesman for Marks and Spencer said: “Along with Sainsbury’s, we have made the difficult decision to stop offering free shuttle services from 30th March as only a few customers were using it.
“There are frequent public buses that provide access to the store.”