Bus company cuts route after yobs hurl rocks and smash windows
A bus company has cut a key route after yobs threw stones - risking the lives of passengers. Kev's Car and Coaches operated the No. 19 service along Overbury Road and Longfellow Road in Northfield[1] but was forced to stop due to constant attacks.
Des Rogers, bus services manager[2], said as soon as the driver turned onto Longfellow Road or Overbury Road, youths would lob stones and even concrete at the windows. The company's single decker buses were targeted around half a dozen times, mostly between the hours or 3.30pm and 7pm.
No-one was hurt but it cost the company £4,000 to fix the damage. After consulting with West Midlands Police and Transport for the West Midlands[3], the firm decided to omit the two roads from their route, around six weeks ago.
Mr Rogers said they would reconsider the situation next month when schools re-opened. Meanwhile, elderly passengers are left to walk up a hill to reach the nearest serving bus stop. He said: "There was a small gang which would jump out from behind cars or whatever and attack the buses. They were throwing stones and one of them thew a lump of concrete.
"It broke the windows[6] and the passengers could've been injured but luckily they weren't. It happened around five times and we decided enough because of the danger to passengers and our staff. "The police were excellent. They did as much as they could but we operate 13 hours a day and you cannot expect the police to be stationed there 13 hours a day. We thought the best course of action was to stop before the six weeks holidays and hopefully the situation will calm down." BirminghamLive has contacted West Midlands Police[7] for a statement.References