DARTMOUTH bus passengers can expect timetable changes in the new year.

Insufficient passenger numbers will mean cuts to the Stage­coach Gold service.

But the X64 service is being extended giving direct access to Newton Abbot and Exeter.

The bus will provide transport to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital and close to Newton Abbot Hospital and will retain the link to Totnes railway station.

The changes have been welcomed by the Dartmouth and Area Public Transport Group.

Member Dee Nutt, of Dart­mouth Caring, welcomed the announcement because of the hospital links for patients.

Stagecoach South West has confirmed that from January 19, 2015, its X64 service will feature a new, direct connection bet­ween Dartmouth, Totnes, Newton Abbot and Exeter.

From the same date, new timetables for Stagecoach Gold and the X46 are also being introduced. These will provide an hourly Sunday service on Stagecoach Gold and improve reliability for those travelling between Torquay and Exeter on the X46.

The X64 extension to Dartmouth will give residents direct, through connections to Totnes, Newton Abbot and Exeter up to every hour from Monday to Saturday.

For commuters travelling from Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton to Exeter, there will also be a later evening journey from Exeter bus station which will depart at 7.15pm.

As a result of the introduction of the enhanced X64 timetable, Stagecoach Gold will no longer serve Dartmouth, with existing key morning and evening connections transferred to the new X64 timetable.

For journeys to Torbay and Ply­mouth, customers can continue to connect to Stagecoach Gold in Totnes.

The Stagecoach Gold Sunday service between Torquay, Totnes and Ply­mouth will also increase to every hour.

Michael Watson, managing director of Stagecoach South West, said: 'I'm really excited about the changes to the X64 and being able to offer our customers a direct connection between Exeter and Dartmouth.

'It's also great to see Stagecoach Gold continue to go from strength to strength. Since it launched, over a million passengers have "gone Gold" and, in a recent passenger survey, 100 per cent would travel with us again and recommend us to a friend.'

A new X46 timetable is also being introduced, with the service retimed to take into account delays caused by the construction of the South Devon link road and Splatford Split widening.

To accommodate this, buses during the daytime will no longer serve Paignton or Paignton seafront. Frequent connections between Torquay and Paignton are available on the Hop12, 22 and Stagecoach Gold instead. The X46 will continue to serve Paignton at the start and end of the day for commuters into Exeter.

Mr Watson added: 'Our X46 bus service provides an important connection for commuters between Exeter and Torquay and, whilst the current roadworks will improve things for everyone – including us – in the longer term, they are currently impacting on our service reliability.

'Shortening the route to the core section between Exeter and Torquay will address this and our Torbay bus network will ensure customers can still easily travel onto Paignton.'