SU and Stagecoach reach understanding over buses

Not too long ago, SU president Isaac Leigh wrote an open letter to Stagecoach to try and resolve issues Warwick students face with the bus service offered by the company.

Following a non-committal response to the letter, Isaac and Steve Burd, the regional director for Stagecoach Midlands, met earlier this week to discuss how improvements could be made to the service.

Improvements are being discussed to unibus services Photo: Julian Walker / Flickr

Mr Burd promised to increase capacity through the use of an extra bus in the morning, evening and peak times.

Previous requests by the SU for student refunds had been ignored, however, Mr Burd has said that refunds will be offered to those who have been docked pay as long as their employer provides a letter of proof. The idea of refunding the cost of a missed lecture or seminar was unfortunately rejected.

‘I’m not going to apologise to Stagecoach for sending an open letter condemning them

Practical improvements were also discussed. To accompany the 24/7 opening hours of the Library in Term 3, Mr Burd said having buses run until 2:30am every day of the week would be ‘relatively simple’, expanding on the existing arrangement of Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. An all-night bus service was also discussed as a long-term solution, though this would mean a change in the bus depot’s opening hours.

Isaac commented: ‘I’m not going to apologise to Stagecoach for sending an open letter condemning them – it was what was needed in order to emphasise the severity of the situation being experienced by so many of you. However, we’re now moving onto discussing proper solutions, which can only be a good thing!’