AN angry mother has criticised a bus company after changes to the service left her hardworking 16-year-old daughter in tears and late for lessons. Shirley Taylor said that until last week her daughter Alice would have been dropped off opposite the gates of Norwich City College and picked up from the same point on her return journey home to Halesworth.

AN angry mother has criticised a bus company after changes to the service left her hardworking 16-year-old daughter in tears and late for lessons.

Shirley Taylor said that until last week her daughter Alice would have been dropped off opposite the gates of Norwich City College and picked up from the same point on her return journey home to Halesworth.

But because of changes to the Anglian Coaches service the 588 bus her daughter uses now stops at St Stephens in Norwich meaning that she has a 15 minute walk to the college or has to catch another bus.

Mrs Taylor has emailed her local MP John Gummer in “exasperation” at the changes.

She said: “As a result my hardworking 16-year-old daughter Alice who is studying four A-Levels at Norwich City College has been affected dramatically... In a typical day Alice leaves home at 7.10am and has an hour and a half journey to the college - only the bus now stops at St Stephens shopping precinct and she has a further 15 minutes walk to the college often arriving late for her lesson.

“The bus does not run as far as the college now and the same is on the return journey.”

Mrs Taylor said that one evening her daughter ran to catch the bus at St Stephens only to find it was a single decker.

“Not only are there over 20 students trying to pile onto the bus but a load of shoppers as well and it was only through pure chance that she got on the bus,” she said.

“There were piles of people in the road trying to squeeze onto the bus and then as the route has changed it took her two hours to get home. She was in tears when she arrived home at 7pm after a 12-hour day.”

Andrew Pursey, of Anglian Bus and Coach Ltd, said the changes to the 588 service came as a result of First Bus withdrawing their 58 bus.

“This resulted in us doubling the frequency of buses from Bungay via Brooke and Poringland. To enable such an increase it was necessary to cease operating 588 to City College and instead terminate it at St Stephens,” he said.

“To enable passengers to still get to City College we now provide four buses per hour from St Stephens to City College which is far more frequent than 588 used to be and through tickets are available from 588 at no extra cost.”