A local transport operator in Poland has scrapped the number of a bus bound for the city of Hel, almost 20 years after Christian conservatives protested the use of a number representing the devil on a bus bound for what in English sounds like ‘hell’ . , informs Guardian.

Local transport company PKS Gdynia announced this week that bus “666” will no longer run to Hel. From June 24, the route to Hel will be assigned a new number “669”.

Local media said the bus operator had acted under pressure from Christian groups pushing for the change, but was already considering reverting to the old number amid public outrage.

The conservative Catholic website Fronda.pl called for the bus number to be changed back in 2018, saying some people thought it was an “innocent joke” but “it’s hard not to see it as malicious”.

Local news portal Trojmiasto.pl reported that the route has been running under the number 666 since 2006, first as a local joke and then attracting the attention of people from all over Poland and beyond. Polish media reported that some people took the bus only to say they were taking bus 666 to Hel.