BUS Passengers from Carlisle and those travelling to the city are set to be vastly affected due to alterations to existing bus routes.
Stagecoach have announced a list of Carlisle network changes which are set to implemented as of June 20.
Included in the changes are timetable updates, reduced frequencies, route alterations and in some instances services being completely axed.
The bus operator has indicated that the update scheduled later this month is in response to economic and travelling patterns in the wake of the pandemic.
Service 67, in Belle Vue, will be reducing their services from every 10 to 12 minutes.
Customers using the 76 at Botcherby and Durranhill will now be using Service 63, with it now running through Morton West and Sandsfield Park rather than St Anns Hill - with those in St Anns Hill being provided by service 62.
At Morton Park, buses will now use Levens Drive instead of Newlaithe's Avenue and those in Morton West will no longer be served by the service.
The new service 63 on the route means that customers on Orton Road will have to walk to Queensway or Crosshill Drive to catch a bus.
Mr McDonald, an Orton Road resident, said: "I'd say about 70 per cent of the residents in the area are in their seventies and eighties, I don't think people in need will be able to get to the hospital now, without paying for taxis.
"Too many people on Orton road can't walk that far," he said.
Similarly, with the service 62, buses in Morton Park will no longer serve Bannisdale Way, Ashness Drive, Lyndhurst Gardens, Westrigg Road. Patrons using these stops will now have to walk to stops on Levens Drive or Westrigg Road to catch 61 service.
On the service 400, buses to and from Durdar, Blackwell and Lediard Avenue will no longer run.
Those using Longtown, Gretna, Annan and Dumfries services will face changes as it will no longer be possible to travel direct from Longtown to Houghton except at peak times.
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A spokesperson for Stagecoach Cumbria and North Lancashire said: "The pandemic has accelerated long-term changes to our economy and communities, including in people's travel patterns. We have made changes to our timetable and operations which reflect some of these changing travel patterns, and at the same time ensure we are continuing to run the services that our communities need.
"We will also continue to work with our local authority partners, who share responsibility for ensuring high quality bus networks, to maximise the opportunities ahead and ensure we are delivering the right level of services that reflect demand across the region," they said.
One service in particular, 93/93A service between Carlisle and Bowness-on-Solway, has caused particular controversy as the route is set to be axed.
Anna Howe, a teacher of Kirkbride Primary School, who has been campaigning with students to save the vital bus route, will be taking students aboard the service tomorrow (June 10) to show that the route is a vital service.
"We've got a community of residents that need that rural service to get to work, further education, hospital trips and as a lifeline for a social life.
"We wanted to give something back to the community and for the kids to have that experience before it is ultimately cancelled as of June 18," she said.
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