BY IAN CROUCH

Newcastle bus operator, Keolis Downer is defending a decision not to include Beaumont Street Hamilton in it’s revised bus routes.

The new timetable and routes came into force yesterday in response to a community backlash to the revised bus network announced in January.

The new network now includes more direct routes to the eastern side of Lake Macquarie, but no services down Beaumont Street, despite calls from the Hamilton Business Chamber.

Keolis Downer maintains there’s no need for the service as only 60 passengers a day were using it before it was cut, and not having buses running along Beaumont Street has improved the urban amenity of the area.