Letter to the Evening Post - First Bus Cancel Services (Paul Harrod)

Letter to the Evening Post - First Bus Cancel Services

July 30, 2007 12:00 AM

Dear Sir,

I was appalled to learn that First Group are planning to axe a number of bus routes, including the Nos 54a, 55 and 57 which serve much of North West Bristol.

This is another example of First Group using its monopoly position to dictate terms to the people of Bristol. The City of Manchester, admittedly a larger city than Bristol, has the busiest bus route in Europe with literally a dozen if not more companies vying for business. Few people living to the west of Manchester would consider driving to the centre of the city because of the frequency of the bus service. There is little need for a bus timetable because with so many buses in service you are never left waiting more than a few minutes.

Bristol is a large, thriving city but with a bus service barely worthy of the name. We need more investment in schemes such as the showcase bus routes that speed up journey times for passengers, but this recent announcement from First Group demonstrates that Bristol needs competition more than anything else. Perhaps greater cooperation across the local authorities will help in this regard but this is an issue that all the political parties need to grasp as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely,