I feel it is a wrong decision to remove the Grovelands leg of the RH bus company’s 700 route.

I appreciate the cost pressures under which the RH bus company is working, especially in the current climate. However, I feel the removal of the Grovelands leg of the route to the Headington hospitals is a mistake which will affect patients, staff and the environment.

Kidlington is thought to be the largest village in England, with a population of more than 17,000 and will therefore have, compared to smaller areas, a relatively high number of patients (and their visitors) who will need to visit Oxford hospitals.

A proportion of these will have mobility issues, may not drive cars or have someone readily available to take them to and from their appointments.

The 700 service going into the village, including the densely populated Grovelands area, is therefore an ideally convenient and appreciated service.

For a similar reason there are also many staff who find the Grovelands part of the route the best way of getting to work easily.

It can reduce travelling time to what are often long working days for many in the NHS.

Walking, catching two buses or driving and parking are all time-consuming and inconvenient when the one-bus option allows people to get to their work in a most efficient way.

Driving from Kidlington can also be very slow as the lane to the Park-and-Ride is for buses only.

If this change goes ahead, many people will have to resort to using their cars again – single occupancy often, meaning increased carbon emissions.

This will put back the environmental improvements provided by the bus system.

As a means of retaining the service through Grovelands while making it more cost effective, I would hope the bus company has considered increasing the fare a little for those travelling through Grovelands, and reducing the frequency of the service through the Grovelands section.

If the bus company has considered them, it would be interesting to know why they think they won’t work.

This service is of much benefit to the community, especially as our main hospitals are not on a single bus route for many, and as such should be retained in some form.

Margaret Reed, Oxfordshire