Four villages near Scarborough including East Ayton to be hit by reduced bus services

The changes on the 128 Scarborough to Helmsley service will see services which make a detour from the A170 road to the villages being curtailed, including the X28 service to Racecourse Road, East Ayton.

County Councillor David Jeffels, who represents the Seamer and Derwent Valley Division, said he has arranged to meet a senior director of Scarborough and District Buses and its parent company, East Yorkshire Motor Services, to discuss the issue.

He said: "The changes will not only cause residents having to make long walks to the nearest bus stop on the A170, but will create potential serious road safety hazards.

"Many of the passengers are older people and crossing the A170 is a nightmare with the very high volume of traffic on a road which has a 60mph limit. I hope there can be a rethink on the planned changes to the timetable because of the hardship which will be caused.

“At the same time, I shall be pressing for a campaign to encourage more people to use the service because it makes good sense to do so.

"The 128 now has a modern fleet of buses, it is always time-reliable, and relieves people of the hassle of car driving into Scarborough, cost of parking and the rocketing price of fuel.”

The bus company says it has been hit by a reduced number of passengers arising from the Covid pandemic when people were discouraged from using public transport, and by a cut in county council funding for the service.