Changes have been made to Stevenage's bus timetable following a petition organised by a resident.

81-year-old Ann started her bus petition after becoming frustrated at the regularity of the number six bus route.

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At the time, she told the Comet: "We want a decent, reliable and regular bus service for Stevenage, which is no more than we should expect or deserve - a regular, safe and clean service for the whole of Stevenage."

The "infrequent and unreliable" nature of services at the time was one factor that motivated Ann to start the petition.

Now, a number of changes have been made to the town's timetable, due to come into force on Sunday (February 19).

A full list of changes can be found on the Arriva website (www.arriva.co.uk).

These changes see many services reduced to every 20 minutes, instead of every 15.

After meeting with representatives from Arriva and Intalink, Ann believes that buses will be more reliable following the change.

                                                                                                                                

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She said: "The revised timetables from February 19, 2023 - which has had to take in their drivers' situation - does mean that the services affected will have slightly less buses per hour, but hopefully we will now be able to rely on the service as timetabled."

Ann also wished to thank all 3021 passengers who signed her petition.

She continued: "I would like to thank all 3021 passengers who signed the petition, my two local Bedwell councillors, all of the staff at Bedwell Community Centre and our Comet newspaper for keeping you informed.

"Intalink are dealing with the issue of the Real Time boards at the interchange to make them actual Real Time, and are looking at the possibility of Real Time gantries at all Stevenage bus stops.

"Unfortunately, at the moment there is no good news for number six, which was reduced from four-an-hour to one-an-hour last year.

"At present there is no change, however, all is not lost.

"Arriva are looking at this service, together with suggestions, to right this major issue."

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council, which is responsible for Intalink, told the Comet: "We work with bus operators through the Intalink Partnership to help ensure a coordinated bus network across the county, however 95 per cent of the Hertfordshire bus network is commercially run by private companies, so we don’t have direct control over the frequency of those services.

"HCC are aware that a number of bus operators are currently facing shortages in staff, particularly bus drivers and working on plans to increase recruitment in the coming months”