'Big Beach Bus' route now excludes part of Exmouth beach

The number 95 bus from Sandy Bay to Exmouth Leisure Centre used to stop at the RNLI lifeboat station on the seafront, giving passengers access to the eastern part of beach.

But now its route only covers the stretch between Ocean and the marina, cutting out a long stretch of Queen’s Drive including the Sideshore development.

Stagecoach said the change had been made to improve the timings and reliability of the 95 service, particularly during the peak summer period when buses often ran late.

But local residents are up in arms about the new route, which also misses out Cranford Avenue, Douglas Avenue and Maer Road, going directly from Littleham Cross down Salterton Road to the seafront.

Derek Jones, who contacted local MP Simon Jupp about his concerns, said: “This is absolutely atrocious of Stagecoach - in the name of efficiency and reliability, pick up and drop off fewer passengers!”

He said holidaymakers staying at Sandy Bay would no longer be able to get the bus to the only lifeguarded section of the beach, and the RNLI station would receive fewer visitors and could suffer a drop in income as a result.

Mr Jupp contacted Stagecoach on Mr Jones’s behalf, and was told that – based on data from ticket machines – the company had worked out that 95 per cent of passengers using Service 95 would benefit from the more direct route.

In an email to Mr Jupp, the managing director of Stagecoach South West Peter Knight said: “We needed to make changes to the route of Service 95 to address issues of late running during the summer months, which means that buses will now follow a more direct route and will have more time to complete their journeys. 
 
“Service 95 will essentially be reverting back to the route that it operated a number of years ago. 
 
“We will be reviewing our Exmouth network with Devon County Council over the coming months and will look at what opportunities may exist to address the issues raised.”