Madam,

I am writing in support of Dr John McTighe who has had frequent letters published in the Cambrian News on the topic of buses. A Mr Vickers who writes in the 15 November edition and tells Dr McTighe to “Buy a car!” misses a number of vital points.

There are many people unable to “Buy a car!” for good reasons. They may not be able to afford one or they may not be able to drive for medical reasons. I use the bus because I object to mass car ownership on environmental grounds.

Passengers who campaign for better bus transport, like Dr McTighe, are heroes in my eyes. I was once told on the bus to stop complaining. I hope that Dr McTighe ignores R Vickers’s comments; I have ignored the comments addressed to me.

There are a few other heroes out there such as Sue Slocombe who has photographed the hidden bus flag, and members of ‘Bus Users in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire Unite’ of which I am one. Our tireless efforts over many years have resulted in better services.

As a member of the Public Transport Users’ Committee (2010-2013) I read plenty of surveys and met lots of passengers. Increasing bus patronage was one of the aims so understanding why more people won’t use a bus is crucial.

Ken Skates, minister for transport in the Welsh Government, is to be congratulated for having introduced free transport on the T services at the weekends. More and more young people are travelling on these services as well as people who would normally resort to car use. Bus passenger numbers have also increased during the week as many realise the benefits of using the bus.

Then there is the prevailing opinion that buses are always late. They’re not! But when they are, it’s a terrible inconvenience as appointments and connections are missed. These problems need to be sorted.

A third complaint is a very justified one; it is regarding the state of buses and, especially in Ceredigion, the bus shelters. The T services all have clean buses but on some of the vehicles the windows won’t stay shut and in wet weather all the windows steam up. There are no seatbelts. Good on Lloyds Buses who have seatbelts on the X28; it shows that it can be done. The bus shelters in Ceredigion are nothing short of shameful, if you’re lucky to have one.

I could have added a lot more. So much still needs improving that the likes of Dr John McTighe, Sue Slocombe and myself will not “Stop complaining about the buses!” Perhaps R Vickers should join us.

Yours etc,

Elly Foster, Temple Bar, Lampeter.

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