PASSENGERS boarding First York's new flagship bus service today gave a mixed response to the changes.

Costing £11.9 million, the Metro service has taken months of planning. With a new low-floor fleet being introduced, the company aims to run buses every ten minutes along York's main corridors.

Evening Press reporter Steve Carroll took a trip on a Claret Line bus, this morning, to ask passengers what they thought of the new service.

Sid Benson, 70, of Poppleton Road, said: "The bus was on time this morning so I'm quite happy."

Pat Noakes, of Green Dyke Lane, added: "The bus was on time and I can have no complaints about the service so far."

But while commuters on-board seemed happy, others were queuing up to attack First York.

Ian Sutherland, 48, of Clifton Moor, waited nearly two hours for a bus home last night, from Rougier Street. He gave up and took a taxi.

His wife, Anne, said: "He was really angry. The bus he wanted was at 4.29pm, but at 6pm he was still waiting."

Helen Robson, of Chudleigh Road, added: "Until Sunday, my daughter and her friends could catch a bus to Manor School, Boroughbridge Road.

"Now there's no bus at all. They will have to walk a mile-and-a-half to school in the cold, rain and snow."

Other losers in timetable changes include passengers in Haxby who have lost services to Stonebow, and commuters in Beckfield where the Sunday service to Leeman Road has been scrapped.

Causing confusion for many was a new timetable system which estimates, but does not spell out, the times buses should arrive at on-route stops.

But rumours of timetable problems and driver shortages were dismissed by John Fletcher, First York's commercial manager.

He said: "The only problems reported were that heavy traffic caused a problem with the Ten service and delays caused by the A64 work.

"Services are running more reliably and the reaction we've had has been encouraging.

"As far as the timetable system was concerned, we were advised by consultants that people find looking at long lists of figures to be off-putting.

"When you change something you are always going to get a few complaints, but it's going to take time."

Updated: 15:20 Tuesday, September 18, 2001